Rust Never Sleeps Remix: Alternate and Deleted Scenes
by Literary-Disaster
Summary: [FFVI][CUT CONTENT] A companion fic for "Rust Never Sleeps" featuring a collection of cut content, variations, outtakes, humorous and/or god awful dialogue, and script variations. Examples include Banon revealing Sabin's real name, and Shadow's challenging Terra and Celes to a fight. *NEW 1/17/19* Preview draft for the upcoming chapter 23!
1. Chapter 1

**_Rust Never Sleeps Remix:  
_ _Alternate and Deleted Content  
_ _Chapters Two Through Seven_**

* * *

 _Notes: I'm a huge fan of deleted scenes, cut content, early concepts, etc. in movies and video games. Literature is no exception. So, I've put this out there for the like-minded. Nothing here is really considered canon for_ Rust Never Sleeps _, but some of it may shed some insight on why some things are the way they are._

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Chapter Two:_  
Out in the Cold ( _Awakening_ Earliest Version)  
1) Notes  
2) Straight into Narshe  
3) Entering the Cave  
4) Terra's Transformation

 _Chapter Three:_  
Displaced Loyalties ( _Dancing in the Firelight_ Earliest Version)  
1) Notes  
2) Chapter

 _Chapter Four:_  
When Fire Met Ice ( _Straight into Darkness_ Earliest Version)  
1) Notes  
2) Chapter

 _Chapter Five:_  
 _MagiTek Solid - Escape From South Figaro_  
1) Terra Heals Locke

 _Chapter Six:_  
 _The Monster in the Mirror_  
1) Celes and Terra Discuss their Escape from South Figaro  
2) Terra Meets Sabin  
3) "I was not expecting such a strong reaction from an amnesiac."  
4) Alternate Ending (A Guard Warns of Kefka's Approach)

 _Chapter Seven:_  
 _Octopus' Garden: Tentacle Assault Squad_  
1) Battle with Ultros (Script Version)

* * *

 _Chapter Two:_  
Out in the Cold ( _Awakening_ Earliest Version)  
 _Notes: Going through my notes and files, I came across this buried in a zip file with a heap of other things. It's incredibly barebones and lacks a few things that had become world-building lore and recurring jokes, such as the first mention of Pruert Durmoch (an anagram of Rupert Murdoch for those unaware) and Narshe's economy dependant soley on pet rocks. It's awful and I can barely read it, but I figured someone would get a kick out of it._

 _Straight into Narshe_

All was peaceful in the quiet mountain town of Narshe. At least, it had been until the ground in front of the tavern erupted in a shower of frozen chunks of dirt, ice, and a thunderous boom that reverberated off the canyon walls. When the dust cleared, the three Imperials stood rooted in place as if waiting to see what would happen. Wedge turned to his comrade and openly berated, "God dammit, Biggs! We're here to verify that there's an esper here! Not to blow up the town!"

"Sorry, sir," came a tiny and meek reply. "My, uh, trigger hand slipped. It won't happen again, sir."

"See that it doesn't! There's a difference between reconnaissance and all out-" Wedge found himself cut off when a Magi-Tek laser singed past his ear. He ducked down into the cockpit of his bipedal metal monster as several more flew overhead.

"The Imperials sent Magi-Tek armor?!" Wedge heard exclaimed over the fire fight, "Not even Narshe's safe anymore!" He heard Biggs shouting swear words as his machine geared to life. But before either of the two men could take action the girl flooded the area with a bile colored gas that immediately choked out their opposition. The three of them remained down in their machines until the gaseous toxin dissipated.

"All clear," she said with an emotionless and stilted monotone. Wedge noted that it was almost as if her tongue was attempting to be uncooperative. Very strange.

Biggs brought his machine up to a lifeless body and nudged it on to its back. "Narshean night watch," he observed, "Complete with outdated Magi-Tek."

"How outdated?"

"Several years at least, sir."

Wedge nodded and scrunched his face into a frown. "Right," he ordered, "They know we're here and they have tech. It may be old, but it can still bite. Be on your guard."

As they made their way into the town, they were accosted by the night watch several more times. Each time ended the same way as the initial battle, the girl saved their asses with poison gas. Each time Biggs complained about not having access to the same weapon. Each time Wedge pointed out that her Magi-Tek armor was experimental. By the fifth time Wedge was tired of repeating himself and just let his subordinate complain to the wind. Eventually, they arrived at a gated cave at the back of the town.

"According to our informant, the Narsheans unearthed the esper in a new mine shaft," Wedge informed the others. He regarded the bars closing off the cave from the rest of the world and reached out to touch one. "This must be it."

Biggs snorted, "What tells you that, sir? The bars? Or the many cries of 'Defend the mines!' from the Narshean night watch?"

"Your smart mouth is telling me that you volunteered to smash open this gate," Wedge replied with a hint of a smug grin.

Biggs slumped in his pilot's chair and grumbled the entire time it took him to rip the bars out of solid rock. Considering that he was riding a huge two ton mechanical monster powered by magic that feat didn't take too long at all. The thick metal bars crumpled like a cat bursting out of a wet paper bag. He turned to look back at Wedge and, with a thumbs up, grinned rogue-ishly. "I think that got it."

 _Entering the Cave_

Wedge ordered the group on into the dark, dank cave. The girl turned on a floodlight mounted at the front of her armor and led them inside. Aside from their Magi-Tek armors' footsteps, there was not a noise to be heard. Not even the stereotypical dripping or running of water. Not even the scurrying of tiny rodents or creepy crawlies that live in the darkness. It was so quiet Wedge could hear his own heart beat in his ears. Biggs, on the other hand, seemed to be jumping at every little noise he heard or, rather, thought he heard.

"Hey, Wedge," he whispered, "Do you feel like someone's watching us?"

Wedge laughed in an attempt to calm his own nerves. Something about this cave certainly was creepy. "I think you're jumping at shadows," he said as he quickly looked about. Because the girl's light only pointed forward it was hard to see in any other direction. Not that it mattered anyway. Their one-two formation stretched the entire width of the cavern and so far there had only been one shaft offshoot near the entrance. Had any of them looked directly behind they would have seen a shadow duck through the semi-lit entrance and quietly disappear into said lead-off tunnel.

The girl suddenly stopped without warning causing Biggs and Wedge to nearly run into her. "Enemies," she explained in her stilted way of speaking. They had reached an open cavern that had a few lit lanterns strewn about. At the far end was a large multicolored feathered beast encased in a solid block of ice. In front of it was the largest snail creature Wedge had ever seen along with two of its keepers.

"We're not handing over the esper, Imperials," one of them stated as he shook a fist.

"You can either leave the easy way or the hard way," demanded the other, completely stone faced.

"The easy way I can guess," Biggs chimed. "What's the hard way?"

"We destroy you and send your heads back to your Emperor."

Biggs shared a frown with Wedge and shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds like the hard way will be more fun," he said. "I always wanted to fight a welk."

"You know what this thing is?"

Biggs nodded, "It's a large snail that absorbs magical energy through its shell, sir."

"What's your path, Imperials?" came a question from the opposite side of the cavern.

Wedge regarded the large creature as it struggled against its keepers to attack them. He shouted, "Let's see what you got!"

"Ymir! Get them!" The keepers released the hold on the creature, allowing it to leap (or at least as well as a giant snail could leap) toward its new playthings. Before anyone could react, it spit slime at them. Wedge was narrowly missed, but Biggs was completely covered head to toe. The slime was so thick that it seeped into his armor's joints and gears completely stalling his mobility.

"Don't attack the shell!" Wedge called out to his female companion. Fortunately, or unfortunately (Wedge still was uncertain which), his warning came too late. The girl had already fired off a missile. The resulting fiery explosion upon connecting to the welk's slimy body completely obliterated it and covered them all in the same slime that initially stalled Biggs. Wedge fought with his machine, but the welk goo was just too thick. It would not budge and eventually started to smoke. He popped his cockpit and jumped out to survey their surroundings. All that was left of the creature was a partial burnt husk of its shell, parts of which were still alight with fire, and whatever goo covered the area. The welk's keepers had been blown clear from the blast and were nowhere to be found. Wedge felt that it was safe to assume that they had been killed.

"Aw, gross," Biggs commented from behind.

Wedge turned to regard Biggs and the girl as they dropped to the ground. "C'mon," he said, "We'll continue on foot." The other two nodded and the girl took the lead.

They sidestepped through the mess and quickly made it to where the esper rested. It seemed to give off a radiance of its own despite the low ambient light and the smoke hanging in the air like dirty laundry. "So..." Biggs began nervously as he looked around, "This is an esper?"

 _Terra's Transformation_

Wedge nodded an affirmative and regarded the frozen creature warily. "I'm assuming so. I've never seen one before. It...gives me the creeps." He paused for a moment before turning to the others. "Alright, so while stealth wasn't our strong point on this mission I can't say that it wasn't a success. So let's double back and let..." He trailed off when he noticed the girl staring slack jawed at the esper. "Hey, you okay?"

Biggs, having noticed it as well, reached out to touch her shoulder. A flash of light from both her tiara and the frozen beast caused both soldiers to recoil and cover their eyes. The girl's eyes suddenly went wide as she screamed out in pure agony. Wedge tackled Biggs to the ground with a shout of "Get down!" and pulled the both of them as far away as he could. They both narrowly missed being hit by a bolt of lightning that shot out of the esper and into the girl causing her screams to double in intensity. "What the hell is going on?!" Wedge shouted over the noise.

They both watched as the girl was surrounded entirely by crackling blue energy strong enough to lift her several inches off the ground. "You expect me to-" Biggs' words died in his throat as the girl before them began to transform. First, colors changed; emerald hair to a shimmering color somewhere between the spectrum of pink, lavender, and white. Green eyes went to a brilliant glowing ember red. Short lavender hued fur began sprouting up wherever bare skin could be seen. Nails, hair, ears, and fangs elongated and sharpened where applicable. Other parts of her body filled out to become more rounded and less angular. To the casual observer, this transformation occurred in the space a few seconds and left the screaming girl looking like some sort of glowing pink cat. To the transformee, this process was painful and never ending.

As the electricity quickly faded from the esper, the newly transformed girl screamed yet again as waves of unseen magic radiated from her core to shred what remained of her clothing and shake the entire cave system. She literally flew around the cave at breakneck speed, not unlike a caged animal seeking an exit. When she finally found the way out, she shot through the cave system like a bullet, knocking over the person who had been lurking in the shadows in the process.

Once she reached the cold air surrounding Narshe, her body became engulfed in bright flames. Her departure from the cave system was like an explosion that shook the entire mountain. If the Imperials hadn't made themselves known in town, most of the Narsheans would have assumed that miners were clearing tunnels with dynamite. This, however, wasn't the case as the newly transformed beast girl flew madly through the small mountain town and startled what brave stragglers had ventured out of their homes to investigate the initial ruckus. After passing through the front gates of the town, she angled her trajectory straight upwards before shooting off over the mountains to the south of the town. The flames of the pink cat-girl could have been seen for miles around if anyone had been observing; from Kohlingen to the west to as far east as the port town of Nikeah.

Back in the caves, a confused Biggs and Wedge limped their way into the main exit tunnel. They stopped in surprise when they stumbled over the unconscious body of a young man sporting a bandanna. "Who the hell is this guy?" Biggs wondered as he lifted the limp guy up by his jacket.

"Bring him with us," Wedge ordered. "We'll find out once we get into the light and out of town."

"Without our armor and this guy slowing us down we'll be slaughtered by the night watch...sir."

"There's a side tunnel down near the cave entrance. I'd be willing to bet that it leads somewhere outside town. C'mon. Lord Kefka will want to know about this."

* * *

 _Chapter Three:_

Displaced Loyalties ( _Dancing in the Firelight_ Earliest Version)  
 _Notes: Not much to say on this one. Also barebones. No exposition intro about Doma. Terra remains awake at the end._

Imperial General Celes Chere found herself staring straight into the crazy eyes of Royal Court Mage Kefka Palazzo. Of course, having her hands bound to a tree branch above her head while in the middle of a clearing in the South Figaroan forest didn't help matters either. Nor did having several of her own soldiers stripping her of her armor and outer uniform before placing her in binds. The crazed jester cackled psychotically and danced a prancing dance in an imaginary circle. Anyone who willingly dressed like a jester and painted their entire face in white with red tears was not normal. Yes, Celes thought, Kefka was crazy. She had always suspected and accusing her of treason because she disagreed with his methods sealed the deal. But then again, one could argue that she was the crazy one for thinking she could go against the Emperor's right hand.

"A thousand voices... All screaming in agony." Kefka cackled crazily before regarding the bound girl with his head cocked to the side. "Why, I know what you're thinking, GENERAL." He sneered her title so much that it came across as a greasy insult. She could feel it slide through her ears and into her mind where it stuck like a sticky cancerous lump. She shook her head with a shudder as he brought his face suddenly within touching distance. "But I had a rebellion to put down! They were just getting incredibly rabid and, why, had to be put down like the dogs they were!" He cackled once more as Celes seethed behind her clenched teeth. "Oh, don't give me that look, Celes!" he mockingly pleaded. "I did what any good soldier would do to win a war." He grinned widely at her before licking his lips and uttering in a guttural tone, "Anything." He cackled once more and began to dance excitedly in place.

Of course he would, Celes thought with a frown. No sane person in their right mind would think to poison women and children and then gloat and laugh about it. "You poisoned women and children, Kefka!" she attempted to reason with him. "That's not fighting a war! That's cold blooded murder!"

Kefka again cackled and caressed Celes' cheek before she roughly turned her head. His touch made her queasy to her stomach. "So says the Ice Queen!" He giggled uncontrollably. "The sacker of Maranda! She who freezes the hearts of men! Alas, the tragedy of Doma! Those poor fools became something more as they perished! They became art! They sang to me of their woes! They sang to me of their pains! They sang to me of their frustrations! It was the greatest of the greatest operas!" He uncharacteristically fell into silence as he regarded the raging fire nearby. "Perhaps..." He slowly turned enough to stare at her from the corner of his eye as a slow grin spread across his lips. With the way the shadows fell on his face as he eyed her, Celes had a feeling she was going to like where this was going to go even less than a normal conversation with this man. "Perhaps you'd like to sing for me, dear." It wasn't a request. It was a demand. Yes. This certainly was going south. He cackled and rubbed his grimy little hands together. "Sing of your woes. Your pains. Your frustrations. Sing as I choke your veins with the very poison you detest!" He cackled psychotically once again as he pulled a vial of purple liquid from his belt.

Celes struggled against her binds and spat at Kefka. "Do what you will!" she shouted. "But what will the Emperor say when he finds out that I'm dead? What excuse could you possibly feed him?"

Kefka's grin became even wider as he pulled the cork off the vial. "'I'm sorry, my liege, but I uncovered a nefarious plot against you! Your dear General Celes Chere, dead!' I'd say!" he shouted in an almost sing-song manner. "'Why, oh, why, dear sweet Kefka?!' he'd exclaim quite concerned!" Kefka cackled again as he swung his arms wide. Drops of poison spilled out of the vial and, to Celes' horror, immediately killed the patches of grass they landed on. "'A vile nasty nefarious plot, sir! Alas! Poor Celes! Betrayed us for the Returners! Betrayed you, my liege! Betrayed you for a gaggle of ragtag ruffians! Alas, poor sweet Celes! Talk sense into her I tried, but... Wo unto me! Killed her I had to! She threatened everything this Empire stands for! Everything you stand for!' And believe me he would because unlike you, General, unlike that goody-two shoes Leo, I am his most trusted advisor!"

Kefka, using his free hand, abruptly backhanded Celes across the face. She cried out as her head snapped to one side. He brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "I, as a good and loyal servent, merely saw that the Emperor's will be done. Besides, how do you think it would have looked on my part if I, a lowly jester, had refused the order for their untimely demises? Hmm?" Celes was lost for words. She truly had no idea how to respond to this tirade or even to the accusation of the Emperor being behind something as heinous as the deaths of helpless women and children. Also, her jaw now hurt. Kefka turned his back to her with a laugh and a wave of his hand. "Boys, show the girl what the Emperor does to traitors."

Celes managed to spit out "You sick bastard!" before suddenly finding her stomach being used as a punching bag for Kefka's two body guards. Every hit, every burst of pain hurt not only at the point of contact, but also in her heart. These had been her men, her company. She had led them through hell and back in defending Vector from several surprise Returner attacks, the raid on Maranda. She attempted to choke out the word "Why?" but the sharp haze of pain and lack of air in her lungs prevented that from happening.

After the barrage was finally over, her legs gave out on her leaving her supported completely by the tree branch she was tied to. There was one more swift punch to her stomach that caused her to go into a coughing fit as she swung back and forth like a pendulum. Now she understood why they had removed her armor before hand. A green tank-top doesn't offer much in the way of protection. After the coughing spell ended, she spat excess fluid from her mouth. It was tinged red. Fantastic.

As Celes hung from her branch and struggled to breathe without pain, she became vaguely aware of a scout speaking low to Kefka. She was certain she wasn't hallucinating this particular event especially after hearing the words "Returner Scum", "captive", and "South Figaro", but it was hard to tell through the haze.

All of a sudden Kefka burst into laughter and dance. "Well!" he exclaimed, "It would seem that our secret mission into Narshe was a success!" He rushed up to Celes, grabbed her by the shoulders, and attempted to dance with her. The bewildered girl noted, as she swung back and forth by her arms, that the act was fruitless since she was tied to a tree. He cackled psychotically and rubbed his hands together. "And my little pet! Who would have known that she harbored such power!" Once again he cackled leaving Celes swinging and confused. Little pet? "Oooh! So exciting!" he cooed. "And a bonus! A Returner spy for me to interrogate!" He grabbed Celes by her long golden hair, causing her to cry out in pain. "Today is your lucky day, my dear! Be happy! I'll only allow the men to do to you as they please! This poison..." He licked his lips hungrily. "I think I'll keep for my new friend who will be waiting for me in South Figaro." He giggled quietly to himself before walking away with his entourage towards the camp's kenneled chocobos. "Ta ta!"

The once great Imperial General Celes hung limp from her tree; sore, humiliated, angry, and losing her track of time. Kefka had been gone for some time when she decided she needed a plan of action. Being free from those ropes would be a start. Her stomach no longer smarting was a fantastic idea as well. Then perhaps...possibly making good graces with the Returners by rescuing their operative? It was no secret in the Empire that King Edgar Figaro was "secretly" a Returner. He was as bad a liar as he was a womanizer. The only reason the Emperor let him run free was because of the technology he developed and shared. She did know enough Imperial trade secrets that she could possibly be an asset to them.

Kefka was right. She had turned traitor. Ironically, it only took his accusations to push her in that direction. His crimes against humanity helped as well. On the plus side, she'd never have to serve with that crazy clown ever again. No more tyrannical tirades. No more invasion of private space. The downside was that, at the moment, she had no way of breaking those pesky ropes. She could possibly freeze the branch with her ice magic and snap it with her weight, but with her hands bound that still left her vulnerable to recapture. What she needed was a rescue.

Celes painfully sighed with a hitch and resigned herself to whatever they deemed her fate to be. At least she did, until a powerful energy presence made itself known to her. It was a like a low frequency hum that started in the back of her head and became louder with every passing moment. Her eyesight locked on the nearby camp fire as it suddenly tripled in size causing the soldiers relaxing around it to scramble back in surprise. Then there was the screaming. It was piercing, it was loud, and it was coming from the sky. She looked skyward just in time to see what looked like a flaming pink cat dive towards their location like a meteor. Several soldiers cried out warnings a split second before the entire clearing was engulfed in a fiery explosion that was powerful enough to snap Celes free of the branch and toss her against the trunk.

"What the hell was that?!" exclaimed one soldier. There were sounds of swords drawn.

"Some kind of flaming pink cat thing?" queried another. More swords were drawn.

Celes, now in a sitting position on the ground, shook her head to clear it as the dust in the air dissipated. Not too far from her vantage point she witnessed something the likes she had never seen before. An unarmed humanoid beast raised itself from its crouching position and stared down an entire company of confused Imperial soldiers. Celes watched as this creature took a moment to flip its wild pink hair from its face before casting a sidelong glance in her direction. She found the sight to be quite beautiful.

"All right. Who ordered me the fuzzy hooker for my birthday?" one of the soldiers asked nonchalantly with a shrug. There was stifled laughter from the back of the group.

In response, the fem-creature (Celes was certain that it was female.) raised a slender arm and, a split second later, magically set a good portion of the chuckling Imperials on fire with an explosion. The ones that were spared fell back to what they thought was a safe distance. Except one. Brave Dave took a swing with his sword and suddenly found himself being flung towards his comrades. The creature had somersaulted over his head, grabbed his shoulders in the process, and used the momentum to send him flying. Once the first group went down, the scene became an all out madhouse as more groups entered the battle.

Celes watched in awe as the lithe figure did nothing but dodge attacks with rolls, hair-width sidesteps, and even flying. She was using the chaos and confusion of the situation to trick Imperial into striking Imperial. Her movements were fluid, almost like a dance of some kind. The only way to explain her movement was powerful magic and very rarely was that magic used to set her opponents on fire. Celes could feel the energy emanating in pulses so substantial that no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't pull her gaze away.

And then, like a snap of the finger, the battle was over. Celes stared at the fem-creature wide-eyed as she stopped to catch her breath. Fifty soldiers dead in less time than it takes to skip a rock across a pond. Blood coated the ground like spilled paint. The bodies of soldiers laid gutted, burnt, or soiled with their own excrement throughout the entire clearing. The only space that seemed to have been spared the carnage was Celes' own. She just sat there with her mouth agape in shock.

The cat girl licked one of her wrists for a moment before finally catching notice of the bound and stunned girl nearby. Or maybe she had known she had been there all along and was toying with Celes psychologically. The blonde took that moment to catch a good look at the beast girl's face. If it hadn't been for her non-human features, like the pointed ears, fangs, and full body fur, Celes would have sworn that she looked like someone she knew. The little girl in the back of her mind wanted to swoon, but the general was having none of that.

As the creature sauntered towards her, Celes struggled to her feet and placed her back flush against the tree. "Stay back!" she shakily warned. "I'm not like the others! I can use magic!" The creature stopped just within arm's reach and cocked her head to one side as if puzzled. Despite the battle that just had taken place, Celes couldn't help but find the expression adorable. That thought didn't last long before she suddenly found the beast pinning her to the tree with its body. Her body, Celes corrected herself; one that she was becoming all too aware of. Her fur was surprisingly soft, almost like down, and smelled very faintly of strawberries, which was an odd thing to be reminded of considering the predicament.

Celes found herself staring into the beast's glowing red eyes, which not moments before blazed like an inferno but now had the kind of warmth one would find in a loving home by a cozy fire. Before she knew what was happening, the cat creature took her mouth into hers for a kiss. Not knowing what to do, Celes closed her eyes and froze in hopes that it would be over quickly. Yet, the little girl in the back of her head was enjoying every second of it. The strong buzzing magic in the air wasn't helping things, either. The general silently wondered if the creature had charmed her with magic.

When the split second eternity ended, Celes opened her eyes to find that she hadn't been kissed by some unknown long lost mythological creature, but rather someone she knew all too well. Someone who wasn't a nonhuman. Someone she had thought the creature resembled. It took her quite by surprise to a point she could scarcely believe it. There was no mistaking that emerald colored hair. She had to work her jaw several times before she could shakily ask, "Terra?"

The emaciated green haired girl wobbled slightly on her feet before nodding tiredly. She attempted to keep her balance, but ultimately ending up falling forward into Celes' bound arms. "I'm tired..." she slurred.

Celes flushed red at the other girl's brazen nudity and attempted to ease her down to the ground. They had to get out this place. A thousand questions were bouncing around her head like mad, but now wasn't the time for talking. She made haste to the nearest abandoned sword and hurriedly cut through the rope on her wrists. If she had been able to feel Terra's magical field, then chances were Kefka felt it as well. She did not want to be here when or if he returned. She quickly scanned the camp for any undamaged supplies worth taking and was rewarded with a sleeping bag and a canteen of water. She shoved those items into a nearby pack as she looked to the empty chocobo kennels. The fighting must have scared the birds off. Disappointing, but it looked like foot travel was the way to go.

As she passed through the site of Terra's impact, Celes's foot struck something metallic half embedded in the ground. After gingerly picking the ring like object up and studying it for a moment, realization dawned on her. Even though it was slightly twisted, half melted, and missing its decorative gemstones, there was no mistaking Terra's tiara. Celes hadn't seen the girl without it once in the last two years. She shoved it in her pack and made a hasty return to Terra.

Celes knelt down to lift the other girl into her arms but paused before doing so. Aside from having the ability to change into some kind of magical beast, she seemed different somehow. What the difference was escaped her grasp teasingly, almost like a cat that wanted attention, but remained just out of reach. Something she'd have to look into once they reached safety. Terra weakly opened her eyes and asked in a whisper, "Where am I?"

Ignoring the sting in her stomach, Celes lifted the other girl and quickly disappeared into the forest. It was a good thing the poor girl was underweight, otherwise Celes would never have been able to carry her. Although when they reached civilization she was going to make her eat a damn sandwich...or ten. "We'll talk after we get somewhere safe," she shushed her.

Terra nodded weakly and buried her face into Celes' arm. "Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

 _Chapter Four:_  
Unnamed ( _Straight into Darkness_ Earliest Version)  
 _Notes: Also rediscovered amongst my notes. This was my first attempt at chapter four,_ Straight into Darkness _, back when I was still figuring out what I was wanting to do with this project. It's drastically different from the finished product and a small insight into what I've got planned for later chapters._

"Terra, wake up."

Young Terra Branford was fully aware of the person standing over her bed. She was always aware and never slept because of it. The hard as a rock bed and its thin tattered sheets didn't help either. Neither did the doctors and scientists poking and prodding her all hours of the day. The only thing that brought her comfort and warmth was the stuffed moogle she was strangling under the covers. Day in, day out it was the same random routine all to find out how and why she could conjure fire. There were no niceties. No hey how are yous. Really, no concern about her wellbeing as a human. Always subject this, subject that. Needles. She couldn't even remember the last time they had given her food.

Her friend Leo was the only one who seemed to take an interest in who she was. He was the reason why she had her moogle in the first place. Not only was it a gift, but when a scientist man tried taking it away, Leo just whispered something in his ear and Mr. Oogly-Moogly was never hurt again. Terra wished that Leo would visit more often. He would tell these guys to leave her alone and let her sleep. She pulled the sheets over her head in the hopes that the scientist man would go away, but like every other time, it didn't work. The sheets were ripped off her before she found herself being forced to stand at the side of the bed.

Terra groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes and wondered what it was going to be today. Were they going to take more blood? Were they going to inject more strange chemicals into her to make her sick? Or were they going to have her set more things on fire? The whole thing was getting to the point of being predictable and monotonous. She wanted Leo to take her away and show her the outside world that he often talked to her about. She wanted to feel the sun, see the trees, run through the grass. When they wheeled in a blonde girl on a bed with wheels, Terra realized that this day was going to be different. This other girl was sleeping in her bed, which instantly made Terra envious. She didn't bother asking what was going on because they wouldn't tell her. They never told her anything.

When the bed was in place and all the tubes attached to the blonde girl were fixed to where they needed to be, everyone left and locked the door behind them. They were watching though. They were always watching. Terra squeezed Mr. Oogly-Moogly and considered what to do. The girl in the bed did not look well at all; red-faced, sweating buckets, erratic breathing. Terra was half-tempted to just go back to bed, but if this girl was suffering... She slowly stalked to the bedside to get a closer look. The blonde was not much older than her and also looked like she hadn't eaten or bathed in a long time. Was she another "subject" like her?

The bedridden girl suddenly whispered "It's cold..." before thrashing about and grunting, almost like in pain. Terra watched wide eyed as the poor girl's thrashing intensified in front of her, contorting the girl's body into strange angles. She could hear scientists behind the door whispering something about rejection, but realized that nothing would come of it when the door didn't immediately open. She bit her bottom lip and made up her mind.

She let Mr. Oogly-Moogly snuggle with the pain stricken girl before taking a hand in hers. Blondie was freezing, like ice. No person Terra had ever touched was ever this cold. People were supposed to be warm. Terra didn't quite know what she was doing, but felt that it was the right thing to do. She tried to imagine the other girl lying in her bed comfortable and warm. A bright blue light formed where they were holding hands and spread out throughout the girl's body before disappearing. The last thing Terra remembered before passing out was the other's thrashing coming to a complete stop.

When Terra had come to, she had discovered that she was once again all alone. She did have Mr. Oogly-Moogly, but as a stuffed moogle he didn't really count. As the days passed by at a snail's pace with no doctors, no scientists, and, most importantly, no food, Terra was getting a suspicion that they had forgotten about her. She had a feeling that it was all about the other girl now as she could occasionally hear the other girl's screams of pain faintly through the walls. Then when they were done with whatever it was they were doing to her an eerie silence would befall the room. Every time Terra would huddle on her bed and squeeze Mr. Oogly-Moogly as hard as she could. She was scared. She was so scared that they'd come back and hurt her more that she couldn't stop trembling. If only someone would rescue her from this scary place.

* * *

 _Chapter Five:_  
 _MagiTek Solid - Escape From South Figaro_

 _Terra Heals Locke_

Terra's hands glowed green as she imagined herself pulling the poison out of the Returner's mouth as if it were a long purple snake. When it attempted to snap at her hand, the version of her in her mind threw it hard to the floor and stomped on its head. Purple chunks of gore splattered over the floor and on the girls' leggings and boots.

When she returned to reality, she discovered that the poor man had thrown up on the floor. Splatter covered the girls' leggings and boots. It wasn't normal chunder, it was the poison that had been in his system. His color was no longer ashen, but now flushed a slight red.

Terra wobbled on her feet as she attempted to stay upright. Her head now felt like a herd of chocobos were stampeding in circles within it.

* * *

 _Chapter Six:_  
 _The Monster in the Mirror_

 _Celes and Terra Discuss their Escape from South Figaro_

She hadn't wanted to ruin the moment, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She asked how they had gotten where they were, wherever that was. Celes merely smiled and, with another squeeze of Terra's shoulders, recounted a tale of close calls, high speed chocobo chases, and massive explosions.

Terra learned that not long after being surprised by Edgar King of Figaro of all people, she had healed the Returner operative, and passed out from exhaustion in Celes' arms. Edgar, being since he was the monarch of the land, managed to procure chocobos for the two of them to escape on while the former general stayed behind to watch over her unconscious charges. Upon returning, Edgar not only had several of the large birds of burden in tow, but his martial artist brother as well, who, as luck would have it, happened to have been procuring his own bird for travel to the castle. The way to Figaro Cave yielded no hardships until at the cave itself, when a Tunnel Armor unit, a large subterranean drill tank armed with MagiTek lasers, burst out of the ground. Celes, knowing the weakness of the Empire's technological marvel, used her lesser known Runic ability to redirect the mechanical monstrosity's MagiTek lasers back on to itself.

Celes smiled weakly before looking away at nothing in another direction. "The explosion was massive," she said with a sigh. "But I knew the men piloting that thing. The only comfort I have in taking their lives is that they would have went instantly." She rubbed her upper arm and seemed to focus on the balcony's railing. "...I hope," she added with a whisper.

The emeralda enveloped her friend in a hug and, resting her forehead on the other's, encouragingly said, "It's us or them. Right?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it easier to swallow when they're people you served with."

Terra had nothing to say as a rebuttal.

* * *

 _Terra Meets Sabin_

"Beautiful, isn't it?" came a soft male voice from behind her. Terra jumped and whirled around with fire in her hands. The man standing behind her wasn't so much of a man as he was a collection of bulging muscles in the shape of a man wearing dark red pajama pants. He warmly laughed and leaned on the stone railing, completely unfazed by the fact that her hands were now tiny fireballs. "Sorry," he apologized, "That's a bad habit I forget about."

Terra let her fire fizzle out into thin wisps of smoke. Obviously, he meant no harm, but where did he come from? Before she could ask, he jerked a thumb back towards the second door on the balcony and laughed once again. "Our rooms are connected by the balcony," he said in amusement. "I saw you out here and thought I'd say good morning!" He returned to his full height, at least a head taller than her, and extended his hand. "Name's Sabin, by the way."

Terra extended her own and felt her tiny hand become dwarfed by his. At first she thought she going to be crushed by his immense size and strength, but she soon found that he was as gentle as a stuffed moogle. "Your name's Sabin?" she asked. "At first glance I thought you were some kind of giant teddy bear."

This prompted laughter from the large man. "I like you," he said with a smile. "I also came out to tell you that breakfast should be soon and not to be offended too much if my brother says something stupid."

Terra raised an eyebrow. "Your brother?"

This prompted more laughter. "Sorry," Sabin apologized. "I forgot that Celes mentioned that you had issues with your memory. I guess you'll meet him at breakfast."

* * *

 _"I was not expecting such a strong reaction from an amnesiac."_

Edgar returned with a twisted silver tiara in his hands. The two girls shot up straight in their chairs. They both knew what it was, but both knew it in different lights.

Terra tried to make herself small in her chair with a whimper. This piece of metal scared her nearly as much as Kefka, although the exact reason escaped her. She vacated her seat and attempted to buy herself into Celes' arms. "Don't put it on me!" she screamed multiple times. "Don't let him put it on me!"

Celes' chair fell back to the floor as she stood to better cradle the other girl in her arms. She made several attempts to reassure the girl that no one was going to force her to wear anything which finally turned wailing into soft hiccups and teary bloodshot eyes.

The perplexed Edgar's expression dropped as his gaze traveled from the tiara to Terra, back to the tiara, and finally settling on Celes. "Fascinating," he muttered. "I was not expecting such a strong reaction from an amnesiac."

"What were you expecting?" Celes countered dryly. "Terra to run up to you with wide open arms?"

Edgar laughed mockingly and set the tiara down on the table. "I had my best engineers study this per your request."

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "And I take it you found something?"

"Indeed," the monarch stated excitedly as he nodded. "This innocent looking piece of women's headgear contains slave crown technology."

Celes' expression dropped before she looked down at the girl that had a face buried in her chest. So that was it. That was why Terra had been aloof for all the time. Kefka had been controlling her.

* * *

 _Alternate Ending (A Guard Warns of Kefka's Approach)_

A royal guard burst into the room looking like he had been chased by a ghost all the way from South Figaro. He stopped just inside the door and used his spear to help maintain his uprightedness. Edgar and Celes shared a look of confusion after waiting for a vocalized outburst that never happened. "Well, out with, man!" exclaimed the monarch, "Surely you must have something dire to say after bursting into a room like that."

The young guard breathlessly nodded his head. "My apologies, milord!" he wheezed. "It's the Empire, milord! A small group has been spotted coming this way!"

Edgar clapped his hands together with a grin the size of the desert his castle stood in. "I do say, my dear," he said as he pulled out a comb to run through his hair, "Kefka seems to be right on time as I expected."

Celes's face dropped into one of pure anger as her balled fists became sold ice. "I'm gonna fucking-"

"No, no. Not here and not with your emotions on high. Both you and Terra still must meet our leader, Banon." Her angry gaze slowly locked onto his excited eyes. "You can't do that if you're dead, yes?"

Celes sighed and conceded that Edgar was possibly correct. "So, I take it you have a plan?"

There was another excited grin with an equally excited response. "A good king always has the perfect escape plan," he boasted. "So... Shall we escape to Narshe with a daring good show?"

* * *

 _Chapter Seven:_  
 _Octopus' Garden: Tentacle Assault Squad_

 _Battle with Ultros (Script Version)_

ULTROS enters the scene from the forest with a frightened TERRA in his tentacle clutches.

ULTROS:  
Hiya, kids! Welcome to my humble kingdom!

CELES, EDGAR, and LOCKE look to each other, confused out of their minds.

CELES:  
*low*  
What the hell is that?

ULTROS:  
*cont'd*  
And since you're in the presence of octopus royalty, I suggest paying respects by kneeling to your non-bony overlord!

LOCKE:  
*raises an eyebrow*  
Who're you again?

ULTROS:  
I'm Ultros, boyo, and don't you forget it! And as my first decree as Octopus Royal on High, I declare that all the pretty ladies belong to me!

CELES detaches her broadsword from the magnet on her back and adopts a fighting stance-

CELES:  
*pissed*  
Oh, hell no! Edgar, man the long range.

EDGAR:  
Aye!

CELES:  
Locke, use your thieving skills to sneak up on this asshole.

LOCKE:  
Um, I'm actually a treasure hunter...

-before she takes off in a sprint towards the giant octopus.

CELES:  
*pissed*  
Now's not the time to argue semantics, retard!

EDGAR and LOCKE follow suit by brandishing their weapons as well, a monster mechanical crossbow and dual daggers respectively. As CELES leaps in the air with her sword over her head in position for a vertical strike, EDGAR pulls the release on his crossbow and a shower of arrows rain on the battlefield. LOCKE seems to melt into the shadows of the trees. ULTROS deflects several arrows easily with the tentacle that CELES had been targeting-

ULTROS:  
*laughs*  
What does that thing fire? Spitwads?

-which causes her to miss with the blade. She hits the ground with a cloud of dust before she bolts straight up, bringing the sword back around her shoulder. She swings it back around the front sending a deadly spinning buzz saw ring of ice from the blade. It connects to the octopus causing some serious damage before splintering off into smaller ice shards that cause minor damage to the surrounding mass of tentacles.

ULTROS:  
Yeowwwch! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to throw ice at people, Boobs?

ULTROS slaps CELES' sword with a tentacle. Now stuck to his suckers, CELES is swung around the battlefield as she hangs on for dear life. Inadvertently, she knocks LOCKE off his feet before he can sneak up on the mollusk.

TERRA:  
Celes!

CELES:  
*exasperated*  
I'm not a god damn yo-yo, you freaking over-grown snack!

EDGAR readies another volley of arrows in his crossbow. ULTROS stops swinging CELES around long enough to wrap another tentacle around her mouth and nose. Her face turns red as she, in a panic, uses her hands to attempt to leverage enough of a space to breathe. He holds her in front of his face-

ULTROS:  
Now that's just rude, lady! I'm at the very least a full-fledged entree!

EDGAR:  
Unhand them, you fiend!

-before EDGAR lets loose another shower of arrows. ULTROS uses CELES' sword, which is still suctioned to his tentacle, to deflect the arrows in a multitude of directions. EDGAR takes cover behind his crossbow, while LOCKE dives and rolls across the ground.

ULTROS:  
*to CELES*  
You are a lady, right? I mean, you look like one, but, geez, those are some serious man-hands.

LOCKE comes up beside EDGAR. TERRA can be heard calling for CELES in a panicked manner in the background.

LOCKE:  
Any ideas?

EDGAR:  
None, I am afraid. My arrows are ineffective and we cannot get close.

LOCKE:  
*scoffs*  
Typical RPG boss battle.

One of ULTROS' tentacles slithers across CELES' chest and squeezes what it finds there. CELES' struggles becomes less and less violent as she turns from red to blue.

ULTROS:  
*to CELES*  
Woo-oow! That's a great rack you got there!

TERRA's eyes suddenly turn red with anger as her entire body becomes engulfed in flames.

TERRA:  
*screaming*  
Let her go!

This causes ULTROS to scream like a girl and fling both real girls in opposite directions. CELES' sword embeds itself at an angle in the ground between LOCKE's legs.

EDGAR:  
*with a grin*  
Well, aren't we lucky!

ULTROS:  
Jesus Christ! I didn't order the fried calamari!

TERRA lands in a brush filled area. She winces as she sits up.

SABIN:  
*unseen*  
Wow! You can use fire like that?

ULTROS:  
*in the distance*  
Where the hell are you, you green haired bitch?! I'm gonna make you feel so much pain you'll get off on it!  
*softly*  
Preferably in my mouth.

TERRA is startled around and finds SABIN.

TERRA:  
Who are-  
*grossed out*  
Ewww!

SABIN:  
*laughs*  
We'll save the introductions for later, but it seems you and I have a mutual enemy. Think you can distract him with your fire?

Back in the field, EDGAR readies another volley of arrows, while LOCKE attempts to defend him using his twin daggers.

LOCKE:  
Any day now, Edgar!

EDGAR:  
Figaro was not built in a day, Mr. Cole. Last thing I want is this exploding in my face.

Suddenly, CELES comes careening out of the brush where she had landed, wielding a makeshift ice bludgeoning device. She makes it halfway to the octopus before he shrieks, hits her with a blast of oily ink, and sends her flying into LOCKE and EDGAR.

CELES:  
*pained*  
That's it! I'm done being tossed around!

She gets up and blindly trips over EDGAR only to land on top of LOCKE. ULTROS laughs.

ULTROS:  
I hafta say, Boobs, you look hot all covered in my ink. How's about givin' me a kiss now?

CELES struggles against LOCKE and EDGAR as they hold her back.

CELES:  
*pissed*  
Lemme at him!

EDGAR:  
Not a wise idea, Celes!

CELES:  
*pissed*  
I don't care if I can't see! I'm gonna rip off every single one of his tentacles and-

A wild TERRA suddenly appears spewing a sea of fire from both hands.

TERRA:  
*low*  
The only thing you're kissing is fire.

ULTROS:  
*screams*  
Look! Look! There's no need to make a seafood soup outta me! This has just been a major misunderstanding! How about I go rule my kingdom elsewhere?

SABIN leaps from the fire and pummels ULTROS several times with punches and kicks.

SABIN:  
You can rule it from the stars, buddy!

SABIN uppercuts ULTROS sending the octopus into the sky.

ULTROS:  
*fading*  
Damn you, muscle-head! You haven't seen the last of me!

He disappears as a glint of light.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapters Eight and Nine, and Eleven and Twelve_**

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Chapter Eight:_  
 _Latitude Eighty-Eight North_  
1) "Edgar wants to set up camp for the night."  
2) Terra reveals her new form in the dark. (Script Version)  
3) Terra Discusses Her Fears (Exposition)

 _Chapter Nine:_  
 _Golden Shiny Ray of Hope_  
1) Opening. Short version.  
2) "Narsheans are a suspicious lot." (Script Version)  
3) Terra, the last ray of hope.

 _Chapter Eleven:_  
 _Celestial Serenade_  
1) Wedge, Biggs, and Stardust Meet Banon  
2) Sabin's Real Name  
3) "The group spent the rest of the day preparing for the return trip to Figaro and had nothing outlandish happen whatsoever."

 _Chapter Twelve:_  
 _The Castle Beaneath the Sands of Time_  
1) "You're my safety net in a world that scares me." (Original Unfinished Version)  
2) There's an underground harbor in Figaro's sub-basement?  
3) Terra and Celes sparring scene. (Script version)  
4) Terra meets Odin. (Original version.)

* * *

 _Chapter Eight:_  
 _Latitude Eighty-Eight North_

 _"Edgar wants to set up camp for the night."_

"Celes?" The rogue general, to her surprise, soon discovered that Terra was tugging her back the way she had come. "Celes, Edgar wants to set up camp for the night." The lavender-haired girl with her pointy elf-like ears looked concerned and had every reason to be so. Celes had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she had failed to notice the darkening of the sky, the strengthening of the wind, the zeroing of visibility within the whirling snow, and the fact that the rest of the group had stopped walking several paces ago.

This was something she really needed to stop doing. With a sigh and an apology, she allowed the changeling girl to lead her back to the rest of the group. While time was of the essence, there was no use attempting to travel in this sneak attack of a storm. Edgar had made the correct decision. All they could do was bunker up for the night the best they could. Luckily for them this was the perfect weather for a wind blockade made of ice.

* * *

 _Terra reveals her new form in the dark. (Script Version)_

A naked half-transformed TERRA is sitting on top of the sleeping CELES and purring her little head off.

TERRA:  
CELES?

The half-cat girl pokes the former general on the cheek, which wakes her. There is a pause before TERRA pokes CELES again.

CELES:  
TERRA? That is you, right?

The purring becomes louder as TERRA stiffens upright.

TERRA:  
CELES? Are you awake?

CELES:  
What's wrong? Did EDGAR sneak into your tent and try something funny?

TERRA:  
*meekly*  
My clothes made me itchy... Can I sleep with you?

Not waiting for an answer, TERRA slips into the sleeping bag and snuggles into CELES' shoulder and chest.

CELES:  
Uh, sure... Are you... Are you purring?

TERRA:  
Um, I think so, but I don't know why. Celes, I'm scared.

CELES:  
Sweetheart, there's no need to be scared.

TERRA:  
But I... I don't know what I am.

CELES:  
You're a MagiTek Knight, like me.

TERRA:  
But you're not changing into something scary. I...don't think I'm human.

CELES:  
Who gave you that idea?

TERRA:  
I've got more body hair than Sabin! Have you seen him? He's like a teddy bear made of brick walls!

CELES:  
You're more human than most "normal" people I know.

TERRA:  
*blushes*  
...

CELES:  
Besides, it'll take more than a body covered in soft snuggable fur to convince me that you're not a human.

CELES squeezes TERRA, causing her to giggle.

TERRA:  
But-

CELES:  
*sighs*  
Holy hellfire! Terra Branford, stop arguing with me! You're a human being who has been augmented by the Empire with the gift of magic. You're no different than I am. You've...just been magically charmed by some dead creature in ice.

TERRA is silent for a moment as she sits up.

TERRA:  
Will I ever change back?

CELES:  
Sweetheart, when you found me the other night, you were far more transformed than you are now.

TERRA:  
Did a prince kiss me to change me back?

CELES:  
Uh, not quite. Where did you hear such a preposterous idea?

TERRA:  
Edgar told me a story earlier today about a prince and a princess frog-

CELES:  
*sighs*  
Edgar only told you that because he wants in your pants, transformed or not.

TERRA:  
*pauses*  
But I'm not wearing pants.

CELES:  
*pauses*  
Well, perhaps Edgar may have been on to something. Maybe what you need is a princess.

TERRA:  
…

CELES:  
…

TERRA:  
*slyly*  
How do I know that you're not trying to get into my pants?

CELES:  
*facepalms, defensively*  
Try the other way around, sister. You kissed me that night. Also, you're the one that barged into my tent stark raving naked.

TERRA:  
*meekly*  
Clothes are itchy...

CELES:  
Hmm... If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get into MY pants.

TERRA blushes and suddenly finds rubbing her upper arm interesting. CELES blushes as well and tries to find something other than TERRA to look at.

TERRA:  
...

CELES:  
…

TERRA:  
Celes, have you ever loved someone?

CELES:  
*stunned*  
What...is that supposed to mean?

TERRA:  
*upset*  
I...I'm sorry. I, um, phrased that wrong. I was just wondering if...it was possible for people like us to find love.

CELES:  
What brought this on all of a sudden?

TERRA:  
*meekly*  
I, um... Just curious.

CELES:  
*pauses*  
I have.

TERRA:  
The rich man's maid?

CELES:  
*sighs*  
I guess in a sense, depending on your definition of the word. She was a mistake. She was a means to forget my heartache and, like alcohol, only made me feel worse in the end.

TERRA:  
So... You love her?

CELES:  
Pruert's maid? No. Truly a one night stand. The girl I fell in love with... I don't know how she feels. One night, years ago, I bared myself to her, but she...  
*pauses*  
I never got a straight answer when...  
*pauses*  
I'm sorry. I don't want to discuss this anymore. I thought I had left it in the past.

TERRA:  
I'm sorry, Celes.

CELES:  
Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault.

TERRA:  
I know, but... It's okay to cry.

CELES:  
It's not okay when I have no more tears to shed.

TERRA leans over CELES.

TERRA:  
*hushed*  
Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?

CELES:  
*smiles*  
Just...continue to be you.

CELES reaches up and affectionately runs a hand through TERRA's hair. TERRA leans into the move briefly before taking it as an invitation to slide on top.

CELES:  
*softly*  
What are you doing?

TERRA:  
*softly*  
Being me.

TERRA kisses CELES. CELES kisses TERRA. Hands wander; kissing continues. TERRA softly squeals with a giggle. Suddenly, CELES breaks it off and sits up.

CELES:  
*meekly*  
I'm sorry. I can't do this.

TERRA crawls away and hugs her knees.

CELES:  
*meekly*  
Please, don't be upset.

TERRA:  
*disappointed*  
It's okay. I thought that I'd try to make you smile.  
*grins*  
And you did, even if briefly.  
*softly*  
You have a beautiful smile.

CELES hugs TERRA from behind.

CELES:  
Terra. Thank you. C'mon. Let's get some sleep.

TERRA responds with a nod. The two are silent for a moment as they slip into the sleeping bag.

TERRA:  
*softly*  
Celes? I want to know what love is.

CELES:  
*tiredly*  
Me too, Terra. Me too.

TERRA suddenly sits back up and produces a ball of fire to illuminate herself once more.

TERRA:  
*excitedly*  
Did I change back?

She hadn't and groans dejectedly in response.

CELES:  
*smirks*  
Go to sleep, you goofball.

TERRA:  
*dejectedly*  
Aw... I thought it would work...

* * *

 _Terra Discusses Her Fears (Exposition)_

Except, the frightened changeling was facing the wrong way. She buried her fuzzy face in Celes' neck as the two women wrapped their arms around each other. It had gotten cold to the point that even she was actually starting to feel uncomfortable, so the blonde was actually quite happy for the company, except... Something seemed amiss as she gently rubbed a reassuring hand across the other's furry back. "Terra," she whispered, "are you...?"

It was Celes' turn to flush, but she wasn't given a chance to dwell on the fact that she had a naked girl in her bedroll. Terra unloaded all her fears and frustrations without prompt; Kefka and all things related to him, the Empire, fighting, the raging storm outside, her memory loss, and her changing body. Celes had to give the girl credit. Not once did she cry during this outburst, despite seeming to be near tears as evidenced by the hitching in her purring. The blonde couldn't really comment on Kefka or the Empire, at least not without sounding like a broken record. All she could do was make a promise to protect her and she would. She'd die trying if she had to.

Terra seemed pleased by this answer as she relaxed her grip and pulled back enough to stare Celes in the eyes. They were fiery, but certainly not the infernos seen the other night. They were warm and inviting to the point that looking away was near impossible.

* * *

 _Chapter Nine:_  
 _Golden Shiny Ray of Hope_

 _Opening. (Short Version)_

The sunlight burning her eyes forced Terra to hiss in pain between her teeth and attempt to shield herself from the offending rays. It was amazing what several hours spent wandering a labyrinth of caverns could do to a person's eyesight. Through the one eye she was able to keep open through sheer will she observed Celes running ahead, arms splayed outward and long blonde hair trailing behind her. "I can breathe!" the former general exclaimed with a laugh genuine that Terra knew was rarely shown the world. She smiled inwardly, yet maintained her stony faced facade behind her hood. There was no point inviting unwanted conversation from...well, anyone. She wasn't in the mood for talking.

While the fresh air, like Celes' good mood, was welcome, the cold was not. Terra pulled her cloak and cowl tighter around her in a vain attempt to conserve body heat. She was tired of fire magic and was refusing to flare more until her stomach stopped growling at her. Luckily, they had stumbled upon a Returner known as Arvis, a man who had a funny voice that seemed to be the consistency of sandy gravel. Arvis had been in the caves investigating the fried welk covered MagiTek Armors that had been left behind by the Imperials. While the magic powered mechanical beasts were still intact, a rare find for the rebels Terra learned, the man had been charged in figuring out why they wouldn't work. He had spent several days puzzling over it until Locke answered his dilemma with a flatly spoken "lightning" as if that had been an obvious answer.

With promises of food and warm beds, the older Returner had led them through the caverns and was presently taking them to see Banon and the town mayor. Just ahead, Edgar, Locke, and Arvis were quietly discussing various Returner news and tidbits which caused Terra's nose to twitch as she, needlessly inquisitive as the animal she was now resembling, attempted to listen in without being too obvious. Thankfully, the three men weren't making too much of an effort to keep information from the rest of the group.

 _"Narsheans are a suspicious lot." (Script Version)_

ARVIS:  
Banon's been trying to get the mayor to allow us to help protect the esper, but...

LOCKE:  
Roadblock?

ARVIS:  
Naturally. Murphy's Law, you know. But, maybe with the king of Figaro to back him up...

EDGAR:  
Mayhap, my friend, but rely not on my good word to create miracles. Well, exception lies in the beautiful ladies who throw themselves willy-nilly at my feet when I speak.

CELES:  
*snorts*  
My ass.

EDGAR:  
Your derriere truly is a miracle within this world, my dear Celes, but hardly worthy to be the current topic of discussion.

Celes turns red in embarrassment, but says nothing due to a snort of laughter from Terra.

LOCKE:  
Anyway, how's the town been since the incident?

ARVIS:  
On edge, I'm afraid, but that's hardly surprising. Narsheans are a suspicious lot.

EDGAR:  
*dryly*  
Yes. Do not remind us, Arvis.

LOCKE:  
You'd think that an Imperial attack would push them into siding with us a hundred percent, no questions asked.

EDGAR:  
Not necessarily, Locke. Narsheans are not like we Figarians. They are so isolated in these cold harsh mountains that they are used to fending for themselves. Most would rather die than seek help from an outside source.

ARVIS:  
He's right, you know. The people here have been on edge since that esper was found. I've been offering our assistance to the mayor from the very beginning of this. It wasn't until the Imperials showed up that he even considered speaking to Banon. Your Highness, I truly believe that if you throw your hat into the mix the mayor will accept our help.

EDGAR:  
I certainly would like to see this esper before I lay my life on the line for it.

ARVIS:  
Unfortunately, that's not my call, sire.

EDGAR:  
I figured as much.  
*sighs*  
I truly hope this frozen creature isn't a catalyst for a situation most dire.

* * *

 _Terra, the last ray of hope._

Inside the Mayor's house, the mayor and Banon are sitting at a table and talking when Arvis enters with Terra and her group in tow.

MAYOR:  
I understand what you're saying, Banon, but...you're asking us to spill our blood for you.

BANON:  
I asked no such thing.

MAYOR:  
You want us to join you in your war against the Empire. That's essentially the same thing.

EDGAR:  
A second option, perhaps. You can do nothing and Imperials spill your blood for you.

MAYOR:  
King Edgar!

EDGAR:  
Banon, Maurice. I apologize for arriving later than stated. We had been...detained on the way here.

BANON:  
What news of the Empire?

LOCKE:  
Chances are they're on their way here now as we speak.

EDGAR:  
Aye. Prob'ly a day or two behind us.

MAYOR:  
But that means you've led them here!

BANON:  
Emperor Gestahl craves ever greater MagiTek power. King Edgar and his group coming here makes no whit of a difference; Kefka would still come to collect the prize regardless. If we allow this esper and the MagiTek weapons that would consequently be created from it to fall into their hands, we will find ourselves repeating history's greatest mistake.

MAYOR:  
The War of the Magi...

EDGAR:  
Remember the tales of barren wastelands and destructive creatures of unfathomable horror?

SABIN:  
Those books in the castle library weren't fiction?!

EDGAR:  
'Fraid not, brother.

Silence.

MAYOR:  
*sigh*  
Edgar, Banon, you both weave a compelling argument, but I cannot let go the whisperings of the fall of the kingdom of Doma. They fell because of their collaboration with you. As long as we remain neutral, Narshe will have nothing to fear.

LOCKE:  
Are you crazy, old man?! Kefka's coming here now! Are you that hellbent in signing your own death certificate?!

Celes steps forward, all the while with a hand on the hilt of her blade.

CELES:  
If I may...

MAYOR:  
You are...?

BANON:  
I know you. Reports of you have been brought to my attention multiple times. Imperial General Celes Chere, the Ice Queen.  
*laughs*  
I see Edgar's wish to turn you has come to fruition.

CELES:  
Edgar didn't turn me. I sought him out.

Banon, Arvis, and the Mayor gasp in puzzlement.

CELES:  
The Emperor wants only one thing; power. He doesn't care who he kills or how he acquires it. I understand now that if any of his own people disagree with his methods, they will be killed or controlled with a slave crown, no questions asked. I know this from firsthand experience. I openly questioned Kefka's methods of dealing with Doma. I then found myself assaulted by the mad clown himself, tied up, and then offered to my soldiers to be used as a plaything, perversely and otherwise.

The room is silent.

CELES:  
*con't*  
If it hadn't been for Terra intervening I probably wouldn't be standing here with my dignity intact or at all.

MAYOR:  
But she's the one that blazed through here in a ball of fire!

Terra tries to hide behind Celes.

CELES:  
Try again, you stubborn old man.

EDGAR:  
She was a slave to Kefka's slave crown technology that night, Maurice. She has had no control of her actions until recently.

CELES:  
The Empire's gone to the dogs, but not all of us are crazy.

LOCKE:  
I can vouch for them. I'd be dead if they hadn't rescued me.

Banon approaches Terra and scrutinizes her. Celes doesn't look too pleased by this.

BANON:  
So you're Kefka's Fire Witch... You're the one to whom the esper responded.

CELES:  
Say again?

BANON:  
Funny. You look like some kind of cat.

TERRA:  
I... I'm human. I just don't...look it.

BANON:  
So my carrier pigeons have informed. Tell me, do you know how Doma fell?

Terra shakes her head no.

EDGAR:  
Banon, she has amnesia!

BANON:  
General Chere, perhaps you know?

Celes looks to Edgar briefly before shifting her gaze back to Banon.

CELES:  
Something tells me that you know something I don't.

BANON:  
Poison was not the only thing that killed at Doma. Unofficial reports state that a tiny green haired girl entered the castle-

Terra becomes horrified with tears, Celes enraged, and the rest shocked.

BANON:  
-and didn't emerge until it was completely engulfed in flames. There were only two survivors, neither were Doman.

TERRA:  
No...

EDGAR:  
Baldur's Gate, Banon! Have you gone mad?

BANON:  
Hiding the truth doesn't change it, Edgar!

CELES:  
*coldly*  
Where did this information come from? No reports of this came across my desk.

BANON:  
Of course the Empire would keep this from you, General, considering your open history with the girl. I certainly did not acquire this intel from the Empire, either. My own men were monitoring the initial situation and sent word back to me.

Silence.

BANON:  
*con't*  
Perhaps you've heard this story before? Ages ago when people were still pure and innocent, a shiny box appeared as a gift from the gods along with an order to never open it. However, an overzealous woman named Pandora decided to disobey the gods and unleashed the evils of the world. Pride. Envy. Greed. Anger. Gluttony. All that remained was a single ray of light: hope.

Banon stoops down to be at eye level with the shorter Terra.

BANON:  
Terra, your power is a gift, not a curse. No matter the circumstances, you must remember that. Your ability to awaken the dormant espers from their captivity is our last ray of light; our final hope.

CELES:  
Now wait a second...!

BANON:  
General, I'm glad to see you finally among our ranks.  
*sighs*  
I've grown weary as of late. Maurice, may I stay in your guest room?

The two leave the room.

TERRA:  
I'm...the last ray of hope?

SABIN:  
*laughs*  
No pressure.

Terra deflates.

EDGAR:  
We should probably make arrangements as well.

* * *

 _Chapter Eleven:_  
 _Celestial Serenade_

Wedge, Biggs, and Stardust Meet Banon

Wedge, Biggs, and the other guy (Wedge really needed to learn his name) had been summoned to the room at the inn that Banon was using as a makeshift base. It had been marked as urgent, so they had left the tavern as soon as the message had been received. As they walked down the upstairs corridor, Biggs sighed loudly, yet said nothing.

"What's the matter?" Wedge asked with a raised brow. It was a formality, of course. He already knew what the issue was.

Biggs straightened up and shrugged. "Banon has the worst timing, sir," he complained. "I was quite enjoying the show at the tavern."

"Actually, when did General Celes start playing for the wrong team?" inquired the third guy. What the hell was his name? David? Bowie? Johnson?

"How could you not know that?" Wedge shot out. "She practically shoved it down our throats."

"She only drilled it into our heads every morning at calisthenics with ball crunching threats, sir," Biggs added.

The group fell silent as they continued walking. It wasn't long before they came upon the room they needed to be. Wedge stopped just short of knocking before turning back to that other guy. "Well?" he asked.

"Well, what?" The other guy turned red and became uncomfortable in his own skin.

Biggs grinned and folded his arms across his chest. "I think I can answer for the rookie, Wedge. He was too busy watching her tits bounce during jumping jacks."

There was a silence as the three men regarded each other. Wedge finally nodded with a shrug and replied, "Honestly, who wasn't?" There was a chorus of agreements.

The three men jumped when a voice called out to them from inside the room. "Misters Antilles, Darklighter, and Stardust," the rumbling voice called out, "Do come in. We have much to discuss."

* * *

 _Sabin's Real Name_

BANON:  
Now then… Firstly, I'd like to welcome several new faces to our ranks, former Imperials General Celes Chere, Fire Witch Terra Branford-

TERRA:  
*meekly* Um, can I have a different title?

BANON:  
-MagiTek pilots Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter, and David Stardust-

ZIGGY:  
They call me Ziggy.

BANON:  
-as well as martial artist Macías Rene Figaro.

TERRA:  
Wait. You're name's not Sabin?

SABIN:  
I always thought about getting it legally changed…

EDGAR:  
You would break mother's heart in twain.

SABIN:  
Hence the nickname, brother.

BANON:  
Now, with all that nonsense out of the way, I'd like to discuss your first mission...

* * *

 _"The group spent the rest of the day preparing for the return trip to Figaro and had nothing outlandish happen whatsoever."_

Upon returning to the inn, Terra filled everyone in with their orders. Banon wanted her to take Celes, Sabin, and Locke with her to the town of Zozo, located on the western peninsula of the continent, and investigate rumors of an esper having been spotted there. There were no ships to ferry them there, so they'd have to take the long way: Castle Figaro to ferry them under the Sléibhte Mountain range to Kohlingen, catch the train to Jidoor, and then travel the rest of the way by chocobo around the tip of the mountain range to reach Zozo nestled in the center of the peninsula. Of course, much to Edgar's chagrin the taxpayers of Figaro would be funding this excursion.

The group spent the rest of the day preparing for the return trip to Figaro and had nothing outlandish happen whatsoever.[1]

[1] Of course, this is excluding another incident at the tavern where a drunken Celes yet again had fallen face first into Terra's chest and Terra had, again, ended up with her hands in questionable places. Both girls had been too drunk to care. Most men present had been too busy drooling to question it. Sabin, on the other hand, wondered how much of it had been deliberate. Not that he was complaining, of course.

* * *

 _Chapter Twelve:_  
 _The Castle Beaneath the Sands of Time_

 _"You're my safety net in a world that scares me." (Original Unfinished Version)_

The sun was setting upon the desert nation of Figaro. Celes looked over the edge of the tall spire she and Terra stood on. It was a long way down, but that didn't bother her. At first she had been concerned when, at the end of their sampling of the city within the castle, Terra had indicated to the highest point and demanded, "I want to go up there." However, after seeing the view (and getting some purely alone time with Terra) any doubts she may have had simply melted away. Flameless lights began dotting the castle city like fireflies in an urban jungle directly underneath them and to their right, the western and southern sides of the castle respectively. Stars in the rapidly darkening sky above them began mirroring the city below. The most important factor was that the temperature in the air was rapidly cooling down.

Terra sighed contentedly as she leaned further down onto the stone guard separating them from the nastiness of gravity. "Figaro is amazing," she said in a hushed tone.

Celes agreed with a slight noise as she leaned up against the stone railing next to Terra, albeit facing the opposite direction. Figaro was nothing new to her. The only thing that excited her about the city-state were the flameless lights, the quality of the nation's alcoholic content, and some technology the castle had called air conditioning. She had no idea how the technology behind it worked, but found it ironic that a machine powered by steam removed heat from the air. And, by the gods, was that technology amazing. Despite her current blasé feelings, she understood and recognized the wonderment in her friend's eyes. They mirrored what had been her eyes the first time she had set foot here.

Terra looked up with a slight frown. "You don't agree?" she asked.

"Oh, I do," Celes countered, "It's just that the novelty for me has worn off over the years."

Terra nodded and soon thereafter the two then fell into a silence. The emeralda continued watching the sun disappear over the horizon, while Celes continued to watch the darkening sky behind them. She was glad to be rid of the men folk for a while, not that they were horrible company, but sometimes enough was enough. Edgar was loyal to a fault, but teasingly perverted to the point that one could only take so much before going insane. Sabin was very much like his brother minus the perversion and stuffy formal manner of speech. And then there was Locke, who, for the most part, was a quiet individual and actually quite… Normal? No, he braved a MagiTek beam to save her life. The man had balls. What was that word? Daring?

Celes was suddenly alerted to a warmth at her breast and wrapping behind her back. Terra had suddenly enveloped her in a hug and was resting her head in the crook between her chest and shoulder. Despite the shy smile that was being broadcast on the emeralda's face, she found herself being stared at intently. "You okay?" she asked. Unconsciously, Celes began smoothing out the hair around Terra's ear.

"No," the green haired girl purred. "I'm Terra."

Celes sighed in amusement. "Smart ass."

Terra giggled softly before speaking. "I'm fine. I just like it here."

CELES:  
Well, then once you're finished with the Returners, you can live here. I'm sure Edgar'll be more than happy to grant you citizenship.

TERRA:  
That wasn't quite what I meant, but I like that too.

CELES:  
Then what did you mean?

TERRA nuzzles CELES' shoulder and begins tracing an outline of a heart on CELES' chest.

TERRA:  
*turns red*  
You're my safety net in a world that scares me.

CELES:  
Well, I do try my best.

TERRA:  
And you're… You're…

CELES:  
I'm what?

There is a pause.

TERRA:  
Will you sing for me again?

CELES:  
*turns red*  
Up here? People will hear!

TERRA:  
So? Sabin, Edgar, and Locke had been present last time.

CELES:  
Right. We had been in the middle of nowhere. I'm… I'm not singing where an entire city can hear me!

Another pause.

TERRA:  
Please?

CELES:  
No.

TERRA:  
*slyly*  
You've got stage fright.

CELES:  
Absolutely not.

TERRA:  
*slyly*  
I call shenanigans.

CELES:  
You can call it whatever you want. It's still not happening.

* * *

 _There's an underground harbor in Figaro's sub-basement?_

Terra slouched back in her chair and stared cross-eyed at the high arched ceiling of the royal dining room. She had, again, gorged on enough tasty delectables to rival her four companions and then some. If anything, she now felt partially sick and regretted that final bite of cheesecake, but it had been so worth it. "Terra shall bankrupt all of Figaro's taxpayers if she continues," Edgar joked.

She attempted to tell him "No more," but all that came out was a pained and uncomfortable groan. She ignored the group's laughter at her suffering and tried focusing on Edgar as he spoke.

EDGAR:  
Right. So, I am assuming the lot of you are wondering how you shall be traveling to Kohlingen from here.

CELES:  
The thought did cross my mind. I'm surprised you didn't tell us on the way here.

EDGAR:  
Why spoil a perfectly marvelous surprise, my dear?

LOCKE:  
Well, the fastest way would be by ship.

SABIN:  
We don't have a harbor here.

CELES:  
That's what you've got down in the sub-basement! An underground harbor! Edgar, you sly dog, you!

EDGAR laughs.

EDGAR:  
I hate to bring disappoint, my dear Celes, but I must.

* * *

 _Terra and Celes sparring scene. (Script version)_

TERRA wakes up in a room. Insert stuff about shopping and stuff, Figaro castle burrowing underground, air conditioning and shit. She finds a note written by CELES; "Join me in the training room and wear something breezy." In the training room, TERRA finds CELES demolishing a practice dummy with a large wooden sword. Slightly out of breath, CELES wipes her brow and notices TERRA.

TERRA:  
Did that dummy try groping you?

CELES:  
*laughs*  
There you are, sleepyhead! I was wondering when you'd show up. We've got another day or two being cooped up in this sandy submersible and, as much as I'd love to spend it drunk off my ass with tax-payer sponsored booze, I can't do that and feel good about myself. Besides, we're on a mission and gods only know what could possibly happen.

With her free hand, CELES takes two wooden katanas off the wall and tosses them to TERRA, who catches them both in opposite hands.

CELES:  
*con't*  
So, I want you to fight me.

TERRA:  
*surprised*  
I'm sorry?

CELES:  
I said "Fight me," sweetheart. Try to kick my ass.  
*grins*  
I bet you can't do it.

TERRA:  
I don't want to fight you, Celes. Besides,  
*sheepishly*  
I'm hungry.

CELES slowly approaches TERRA.

CELES:  
You're in the middle of the wilderness. You're out of rations and you're stalking your breakfast-

Suddenly, CELES lunges at TERRA-

CELES:  
-when suddenly, a wild Celes appears!

-who catches the massive sword between her two.

TERRA:  
I don't want to fight you! I can't eat you afterward!

CELES:  
Sweetheart, it's called practice.

CELES adds pressure to the hold in an attempt to make TERRA slip. TERRA, however, releases the hold on CELES' sword just as she sidesteps away. This causes CELES to fall forward with a yell of surprise, tuck into a roll, and come back up on her feet.

CELES:  
Let's make this interesting. Winner can make the loser do anything they want for the day.

TERRA:  
What are we? Five?

TERRA twirls a blade one handed and, with added support from her forearm, grips it upside down to block an overhead swing from CELES.

CELES:  
I'd put money on the table-

TERRA shoves CELES' sword away and attempts to stab at her with her other blade, but misses when the other girl sidesteps.

CELES:  
*cont*  
-but I don't think either of us are beyond broke-ass poor.

TERRA again brings up her upside down gripped blade to block a strike-

TERRA:  
Fine. Rules?

-swats it away, and uses the same arm to give a weak hilt strike to CELES' stomach. CELES takes a step back with a wheeze.

CELES:  
*hoarsely*  
No kissing Edgar.

TERRA rushes in with a diagonal strike with both blades, but is blocked by CELES who is holding her sword upside down with one hand and supporting the monster blade with the other. The two hold the pose.

TERRA:  
*smirks*  
Aw, why not?

CELES:  
*smirks*  
This only applies to me. You can kiss him all you want.

TERRA:  
No, thanks.

TERRA struggles to break CELES' hold with brute force.

TERRA:  
*grunts*  
Hey, Celes?

CELES:  
What?

TERRA:  
*seductively*  
I want to lick you all over.

CELES:  
*blushes, shocked*  
What?

Her hold falters just a fraction of a moment, long enough for TERRA to land on a hit on her side with a kick. CELES lands on the ground with a grunt and rolls away just in time to avoid getting speared. Once a sufficient distance away, she returns to her feet.

CELES:  
Oi! What the hell, lady? That's cheating!

TERRA giggles and twirls the blade in her left hand.

TERRA:  
No, that was a distraction.

CELES growls and charges TERRA with a leap. TERRA jumps back and stumbles a few steps as she twists to avoid CELES' second lunge. The large broadsword trips her up. She falls to the floor and loses her blades in the process. Her eyes cross as CELES hovers the tip in TERRA's face.

CELES:  
*grins*  
I believe I win.

TERRA:  
*deadpanned*  
Your boobs are showing.

CELES, distracted by her wardrobe malfunction, loses her sword when TERRA kicks it from her hand. It lands WAAAAAAY across the room.

CELES:  
What the-?!

TERRA tackles CELES to the floor from a crouching position and pins her down. The two stare at each other as they catch their breaths.

TERRA:  
I believe I win.

CELES:  
I can totally see right down your shirt.

TERRA:  
I call shenanigans.

CELES suddenly gropes TERRA.

CELES:  
No, these are shenanigans.

TERRA squeals in surprise as CELES flips them over.

CELES:  
I win.

TERRA tickles CELES in retaliation. CELES squeals and cackles in laughter as TERRA turns the tables and pins her to the floor, once again.

TERRA:  
*giggling*  
Submit!

CELES:  
*giggling*  
Never!

TERRA:  
*giggling*  
Do I have to tickle you some more?

CELES:  
*giggling*  
Do your worst!

The two just stare at each other. TERRA turns red.

TERRA:  
*whisper*  
Celes, can you be honest with me?

CELES:  
What's wrong?

TERRA:  
*whisper*  
Am… Am I that girl from your past that you fell in love with?

CELES:  
…

TERRA:  
*whisper*  
Am I the girl that went away and left you on your own?

CELES:  
*whisper*  
It...wasn't your fault.

TERRA:  
*whisper*  
I am, aren't I?

CELES:  
*whisper*  
Terra, I don't want to have this conversation.

TERRA:  
Why?

Figaro comes to a sudden halt and sends the two girls skidding across the floor and into a wall.

CELES:  
*pained*  
There's one reason.

* * *

 _Terra meets Odin. (Original version.)_

First, it had been a single step. Then after much fretting, a second step. Each consecutive step Terra found easier to traverse downwards. Before long, she found herself in a smallish sized library. To her delight, most of the books were still intact, but, based on what was printed on the spines, seemed to be filled with a language that looked similar to the common Vectorian that most modern nations spoke. Unfortunately, the language wasn't Vectorian enough for her to be able to decipher it. Aside from that, the room contained nothing else of interest.

From the floor above, Terra heard Locke faintly cry out in excitement, "Hey! I found a switch!" Not a moment later, much to the chagrin of her heart's ability to stay steady, one of the bookshelves suddenly retreated into the wall and revealed another stairwell leading further down. Again, it felt as if she were being drawn into the darkness. This time she didn't bother heeding the warnings going off in her head. She proceeded downwards in the wall of onyx inkiness as if it were nonexistent.

She found herself in another throne room, albeit smaller than the one encountered two floors up. Unlike the one above, this one contained something odd, a statue of a young woman praying. A green gemstone rested in her hands. Upon closer inspection with the light of her fire, Terra made a shocking discovery. The woman looked exactly like Celes! Well, if Celes presented herself with a tad more feminine flair. How crazy was that?! It was uncanny! Perhaps this statue had been modeled after a long lost relative of hers.

Terra opened her mouth to call to her companions to her location, but let her voice die before it could sound. A voice whispered in her ear.

YOU SIDE WITH HUMANS.

Despite the lack of malice in its tone and the lack of directionality, Terra whirled around in fear and brandished her blade and fire into a defensive position. She scanned the darkness in the flickering light, but found nothing that could have produced it. "I… I am a human," she found herself stammering, "but I have an allergic reaction to espers that changes me into a cat. And I don't side with all of mankind, just the ones that want equality for us and espers." She wasn't sure why she added the last bit, but a little clarification never hurt.

The voice laughed. It sounded almost like smooth boulders rolling down a perfectly curved hill. IS THAT WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT YOURSELF? VERY WELL. I WILL LET YOU CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT.

"I'm sorry," Terra apologized with a furrowed brow. "I don't understand."

'TIS NARY OF IMPORT.

"You led me down here," she accused as she wandered around, searching for the owner of the voice. Her weapon and magic remained at the ready. "Why?"

I WAS INTRIGUED BY A CASTLE OTHER THAN MY OWN APPEARING UNDER THE STONE.

The masculine voice was referencing Figaro. Granted, the castle was loud in burrow mode, but how did he know that it was even a castle and not some other form of strange technology? "That doesn't really answer my question." And it didn't. He gave a non-answer.

I AM ALSO INTRIGUED BY TWO MAGIC USERS WHO SHARE SIMILAR AND POWERFUL MAGIC FIELDS. ONE ARTIFICIAL, THE OTHER NOT.

Artificial magic? Not artificial magic? "I don't understand," she lamely responded. Did that mean that he could sense that she and Celes had been infused with magic belonging to other espers? She was cut off before she could ask.

'TIS NARY OF IMPORT.

Terra could almost hear the smile in that phrase. She was beginning to feel like she was being toyed with, but lacked certifiable evidence. There were no expressions for her to read. Of course, she wasn't the best when it came to reading people anyway. She'd have to make do with her ears and ears alone. "You like that phrase, don't you?"

INDEED.

Short and to the point. He really wasn't giving her much to work with and if he did, he carried on the conversation before she could get clarification. This was frustrating. Were all espers like this? She needed another point of reference or something! "May I speak with you face to face?" she asked.

WE CAN SPEAK AS WE ARE.

Shot down in flames. "Um, okay," she muttered with an attempt to hide her disappointment. "Look, we don't mean any harm. We-"

YOU WISH TO USE ME IN BATTLE AGAINST MAGIC HUNGRY HUMANS.

"Well, no, not really."

I BELIEVE YOU ENTERED MY CASTLE WITH THE INTENT TO CONVINCE ME TO JOIN YOUR BATTLE AGAINST AN EMPIRE.

"Well, yeah, kind of, but I didn't say that. That was-"

MY POINT.

"I'm sorry?" Blindsided, Terra had nothing else to respond with. This was probably the most amount of times she had uttered those words in a single conversation.

YOU'VE PROVEN MY POINT, the voice reiterated with a hint of snark or even glee. It was hard to tell when it was a voice that you heard only in your head.

Terra sighed and furrowed her brows once again. "But you have a choice!" she cried with a wave of her fire engulfed right hand. "The Returners gave me a choice as well."

EXPLAIN.

And so, Terra told her story. She told of her amnesia. She touched upon her relationship with Celes and Celes' falling out with the Empire. Everything that was relevant to how the two of them came to be in the service of anti-Imperial forces was spewed out in a massive verbal dump. She made sure to emphasize the facts concerning FireBeard's initiation of her into the organization. They hadn't demanded anything of her. They simply asked if she would help and she had agreed.

AND THIS…CELES. IF SHE FIGHTS FOR ESPER KIND, WHY DOES SHE POSESS MAGIC RIPPED FROM ONE?

She didn't know the exact procedure on how people were augmented with magic. It was a well-guarded secret that the Empire kept under lock and key. Even if she could remember her past, she be in the same boat as Celes. She had mentioned that they had knocked her out beforehand. However, it was possible that Celes was hiding some more disturbing facts from Terra to protect her in some way. She put it forth that the esper should talk to her directly.

There was that rolling laughter again. MY CHILD, the voice declared, SHE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE OF THE ESPERS.

"But I can understand you just fine."

INDEED.

Terra waited for further clarification, but soon realized that there would be none. So far she had been doing most of the talking in the conversation and it was starting to irritate her. "I don't understand."

ODIN:  
YOU LIKE THAT PHRASE, DO YOU NOT?

TERRA:  
Now you're just teasing me on purpose!

ODIN:  
INDEED. I KNOW NOT THE FULL EXTENT OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT I WILL AID YOU. TAKE THE MAGICITE FROM THE HANDS OF FRIGG, THE STONE QUEEN BESIDE YOU. USE IT TO CALL ME FORTH AND I WILL RENDER ASSISTANCE.

TERRA:  
Thank you.

ODIN:  
I HAVE CONDITIONS. NO HUMAN MAY SUMMON ME.

TERRA:  
But I told you… I'm human.

ODIN:  
YOU KEEP THINKING THAT. AND WHEN YOUR CRUSADE HAS REACHED ITS END, RETURN ME TO FRIGG. ALLOW ME MY ETERNAL SLUMBER WITH THE ONE WHO LOVED ME AND THE ONE I SWORE TO PROTECT.

TERRA:  
Can you tell me about her?

ODIN:  
I SHALL.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapters Thirteen Through Sixteen_**

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Chapter Thirteen:_  
 _Plains, Trains, and Misappopriation_  
1) Terra/Celes Train Scene Variations:  
_ _A) A discussion of what Locke had said to Terra.  
_ _B) "Sunshine over two sparkly lakes."  
_ _C) "Excellent hearing, my arse."  
2) Derailed Train Aftermath Variations:  
_ _A) The explanation for Celes' ice boot.  
_ _B) Terra's bloody french kiss.  
_ _C) Celes saves Terra and Terra versus Dadaluma. (Script Version)  
3) Ending Scene Variations:  
_ _A) Script version.  
_ _B) Drunk Terra version. (Snippet.)  
4) Biggs and Wedge scene. (Early variation.)

 _Chapter Fourteen:_  
 _On Our Way to Zozo_  
1) "The man who'd slit his mum's throat for a Figarian nickel."  
2) Why Locke hides his Kohlingen accent.  
3) Celes muses over leaving the Empire. (Short version)  
4) Dicks in the military and Terra likes cleavage.  
5) Locke's Past: Take Two (cut) and Vargas discussion. (Script version)  
6) Meeting Ramuh:  
_ _A) Variation 1. Ramuh refuses to discuss Terra's exact heritage.  
_ _B) Variation 2. Terra remains calm upon learning her heritage.

 _Chapter Fifteen:_  
 _The Struggling Exposition_  
1) Celes and Terra:  
_ _A) Celes brushes Terra's hair. Variation 1.  
_ _B) Snippet.  
_ _C) Celes brushes Terra's hair. Variation 2.  
_ _D) "We don't always understand our emotions."  
_ _E) Terra wakes up groped.  
_ _F) "But you have boobs bigger than my head! I'm a bloody ironing board!"  
2) Narrative Exposition (Dialogue version)  
3) Battle:  
_ _A) The Returners are attacked by a flash grenade. (Terra's POV)  
_ _B) The Returners are attacked by a flash grenade. (Celes' POV)  
_ _C) Celes and her one-liners. Terra got kidnapped.

 _Chapter Sixteen:_  
 _Blood in the Streets, Memories in the Wind_  
1) Battle:  
_ _A) Terra can fight too.  
_ _B) Celes and her one-liners again.  
_ _C) Sabin bursts through a glass window.  
_ _D) Esper!Terra makes an appearance.  
_ _E) Celes faceplants into Terra.  
_ _F) Esper!Terra summons Odin against the citizens of Zozo.  
2) Narshe remains an independant state. (Opening Variation)  
3) Ending:  
_ _A) "Hang on to your underpants."  
_ _B) Exposition prevents Celes from talking to Cid.  
_ _C) Terra discovers why it's chilly out.

* * *

 _Chapter Thirteen:_  
 _Plains, Trains, and_ _Misappropriation_

 _A discussion of what Locke had said to Terra._

Terra hummed an agreement and continued to look out over the rolling landscape. Celes stared off in the same direction and tried to figure out what it was the cat-girl was so fascinated with. The blonde readjusted her standing posture and accidentally brushed Terra's hips with her own. This prompted the lavendera to giggle and begin purring like a sputtering motorbike.

Celes turned crimson at her mistake, but continued to pretend that such things were beneath her. There were other things at hand that required her attention, such as her investigation as to why Terra had reacted the way she had upon hearing Locke's past. "Say, Terra," she started, "I'm curious. What had Locke said to you that you finally got a grasp on?"

Terra's tail stopped swishing lazily as she took it in her hands to wring it out like a wet wash cloth. "I had said that out loud, hadn't I?"

Celes merely replied with a tightlipped nod.

"Back in Narshe," Terra continued with an averting gaze, "he had given me advice in telling people how I feel. Now I know why he had pleaded with me to not make the same mistake as him."

Celes was suddenly reminded of what had transpired on their trip to Figaro and Terra's sweet saccharine. Locke had been the cause of that? "And that's why you had-"

A furry hand was suddenly on top of hers on the railing. "I'll ask once more, am I that girl?"

* * *

 _"Sunshine over two sparkly lakes."_

"Nothing odder than the fact that I've only seen one interesting thing since boarding the train."

"Really?" Celes snorted with laughter. "Out here in the sticks? I'm surprised. Was it someone who could actually string together an understandable sentence?"

Terra hummed an affirmation before fully turning and grinning shyly in Celes' direction. "Well," she said, "I think she can." The former general froze and found that she couldn't breathe. Had Terra just hit on her? No, that wasn't possible. She suddenly found the cat-girl embracing her close and pinning her to the guardrail. One of her clawed hands brushed a blonde lock from her eye. "I see… Sunshine over two sparkly lakes." She giggled softly and stared with half closed eyes. "Do you see what I see?" she asked.

Celes swallowed hard and nervously shook her head. This was so far out of her comfort zone. This behavior was so UnTerra-like, she didn't know how to react.

* * *

 _"Excellent hearing, my arse."_  
 _Notes: This is a leftover from an obscure FF8 reference that ultimately was cut._

A beep.

CELES:  
Did you hear that? What was that?

TERRA:  
Hear what?

CELES:  
A high pitched…something.

TERRA:  
I didn't hear anything.

A beep.

TERRA:  
Wait. That?

CELES:  
Excellent hearing, my arse.

The two enter the passenger car to find a few passengers in their seats and looking around. The noise has quickened in pace. Celes leads the two to the door connecting back to the dining car. However, she stops as soon as the door opens.

CELES:  
Get back!

TERRA:  
What's wrong?

Celes pulls a panicked Terra with her.

CELES:  
*shouting*  
Everyone to the back of the car! Emergen-

The car suddenly explodes, derailing the train.

* * *

 _The explanation for Celes' ice boot._

Celes hurt all over. To say that she was seriously injured was an overstatement. To say that she survived with a few scratches was an understatement. Her right ankle was screaming obscenities at her, but she couldn't understand the indecipherable yelling. The rest of her body felt as if someone had wrung her through a mechanical hand-cranked clothes washer. She was lying in soft grass, but had no idea how she had gotten there. One moment, she and Terra had been on a balcony and then-

Terra!

She attempted to snap to a stand, but found herself back on the ground when her right leg couldn't support her weight going upwards. Broken ankle or sprained or something, she couldn't tell which. All she knew was that it hurt like hellfire. Before attempting to stand again, she fashioned a boot cast with ice magic to help support herself. Walking would be difficult and there would be that constant magical drain, but there was no time to worry about such things. Semantics could go bugger themselves.

Taking in her surroundings, she discovered that the entire locomotive had become derailed in a purely awesome wreck. Several of its cars were alight with burning fire and, in most cases, on their sides and smashed to pieces. Thick acrid smoke filled the crash scene before her and billowed into the sky above like some kind of large black snake…that could fly and was very fluffy. She couldn't see any other passengers around her, only wreckage large and small.

"You find any other survivors?" came a gruff angry voice that echoed from the other side the remains of the nearby caboose.

Celes took cover behind the upright remains of what had been the top of a cargo car and held her breath. Her gut was telling her something wasn't right about this. That, of course, was a no brainer. People who enquired about survivors typically were panicked if they were out on rescue duty, not angry chain smokers.

"Nah, man," came a second seedy voice from the same location as the first. "Anyone who's still breathin's back at base."

"As for General Celes and the Fire Witch…?"

The second voice laughed. "Both slapped in anti-magic collars, courtesy of the Empire," he said with a slight beam.

The Empire was behind this! And Terra captured! Celes seethed and was barely able to control herself from rushing out there and doing something silly. But something was odd about what she had heard. How could she be captured and in anti-magic restraints when she was right here, not where they were keeping hostages, and clearly using magic to support her ability to remain upright?

The first voice brought her out of her reverie. "So how many 'guests' in total will we be supplying to the Empire?" he asked.

"About fifty," replied the second. "There could have been at least seventy, but Johnson had to hit a full car."

"Bloody Johnson! That's comin' out of his share!"

"Go easy on 'im, eh? He's still learning how to use that MagiTek Armor."

A horrifying thought started going around Celes' head. These weren't just your average run of the mill bandits, these were slavers with tech enough to derail a bloody train. She knew now that the Empire had some shady dealings, but dealing with slavers… Why? For what purpose? Surely not just to get Terra and herself back in their clutches. There was more to this somewhere buried underneath something that smelled rotten. She had to admit, this was low even by Imperial standards and those standards were as low as standards could get.

She had to find Terra, Locke, and Sabin as there was no way she was taking on an entire band of slavers injured and with only draining ice magic at her disposal. That was suicide. She didn't fear death, not at all, but that certainly didn't mean she had a death wish.

* * *

 _Terra's bloody french kiss._

Terra spat blood from her mouth. Funny story: the blood was not her own, but instead belonged to the gentleman screaming not too far away. He had intended to do something unspeakable to the unconscious Not-Celes beside her. She had offered herself in an attempt to halt his less than pure ministrations. The bait had been taken and he had found himself with a piece of his tongue missing. If they hadn't bound her or her magic, she wouldn't have had to resort to such crude but effective tactics. Interestingly enough, cutting off her magic had also returned her to normal, something she'd have to remember. She wondered if the choker around her neck had something to do with it.

In a rage, he screamed and came running at her with his dagger poised for a strike. She rolled onto her back and attempted to kick him in the chest with her bound feet, but missed her target completely. He dove on top of her and pinned her down by straddling her at her waist. He regarded her with a deranged grin as he waved the knife about before her eyes. She squirmed as he trailed the tip across her cheek, down her neck, and around her chest.

"You've got a lot o' spunk," he whispered harshly. "I like that in me women. I think I'll break ya first before going after girlie over there."

Only two things were going through Terra's mind at this point. This was a very troubling situation and his breath stank of booze, rotten fish, and a hint of some other nasty rank stench. It was retched. She truly wanted nothing more than to empty the contents of her stomach because of the smell. And to think she bit his tongue!

"Don't worry yer pretty li'l head," he uttered, "I promise I'll be gentle." He followed this up with self-satisfied chuckling.

Terra squealed and squirmed as he made a mad grab for the top of her dress.

"That's right! I loves squealin'!"

But then something strange happened. An extremely large and very bloodied icicle suddenly appeared and lodged between his upper and lower jaws. It kept growing, enough that Terra actually saw him look down to watch it. Realization dawned on him on what was transpiring before he gave her a pleading look, as if she could fix whatever was happening to him. This whole exchange felt to Terra as if it were a lifetime, but in reality had occurred in the span of several quick seconds.

If wasn't long before the ice spread to cover his entire head. Terra stared in morbid shock as he clawed at it as if his fingernails could scrape it off. His screams were muffled beneath his new helmet made of ice. Suddenly, two hands gripped the ice sculpture and quickly twisted, producing a wet snap and newly minted dead body. He fell to the ground beside her rewarding Terra with the greatest sight she could ever behold.

A scratched, bleeding, and generally disheveled Celes stood over her. The raging scowl on her face softened as she bent down to undo the binds.

As soon as the binds and gag were gone, Terra tackled her benefactor with a hug and rewarded her with a kiss. She would have also rewarded her with healing magic, but because of the strange metal choker around her neck she was unable to do so. "You're hurt," the emeralda observed with a pout.

Celes nodded weakly and collapsed to a sitting position on the ground. "I think I've got a concussion and a broken foot or something," she said. "I'll live."

Typical Celes acting tough and too proud to ask for healing, not that Terra could provide the service anyway. She discussed with the injured woman what she had discovered which led to first a shouted and frustrated swear, secondly a quick inspection, and then a declaration that she was now the proud owner of an Imperial seal collar, only removable with a master key. This meant that she had two options: find the slaver who held the key or have Locke use his thief magic. This brought about another query: Where were the men anyway? Celes hadn't seen either and had only stumbled upon Terra's locale by sheer dumb luck.

Terra decided to go out on a search for either solution to her magical dilemma and, despite the protests, left Celes in charge removing the binds on the civilians. The emeralda hated to say it, but with Celes injured and unarmed like she was she'd be unable to fight effectively.

* * *

Celes saves Terra and Terra verses Dadaluma (Script Version)

"Well, well," said the lanky redheaded one, whom Terra named Ginger McGinger. "Look who's awake."

The second one, a rather large balding egg-shaped fellow, giggled before turning to his friend. "I still find it hard to believe that this's that Fire Witch people been talkin' 'bout," Eggman crowed.

Ginger nodded. "Green hair, green eyes, pale skin like a bloomin' Doman. Believe it." He gave a grin that sent a chill down Terra's spine. "I have to wonder, Charley. Do ya think the carpet matches the drapes?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Terra owned no house that they could possibly critique nor did they look like they knew anything about making better homes and gardens.

Eggy giggled again. "Nah," he said. "There's no way, mate." Knuckles were cracked. "Gotta be a dye job."

Terra found herself looking upwards at the two slavers as they stared hungrily down at her. The angry look melted from her face as her eyes fearfully darted from one lust filled expression to the other. A feeling of dread was building in the pit of her being until it threatened to overthrow the fascist stomach regime and banish it to the cold outside world. A muffled whimper escaped as she tried to make herself smaller. She really could go for a tall frosty glass of rescue right about now.

 _Celes? Where are you?!_

Ginger unbuckled the belt holding the pants to his person and let the article of clothing fall to his boots. "How's about we find out?" he said with a grin.

 _Sabin?_

Eggy suddenly became angry and spat, "Why d'ya always get to go first?!"

 _Locke?_

"Because I'm a not a fat bastard like you are." Ginger dropped down to his hands and knees to fill Terra's field of view with his ever grinning mug. She found herself unable to look away from his broken and rot-filled teeth. The smell radiating from his face was putrid enough to make the grass around her wither and turn black. She tried to squeal in protest and squirm away when his hands started exploring parts of her body that only she had been intimate with. "Don't fret, missy. I'm gonna take real good care of ya."

 _Anybody?!_

Suddenly, a wet gurgling sound came from behind Ginger that loud enough to catch his attention. "God dammit, Charley!" he exclaimed. "Don't jack it while I'm working me mojo!" Terra heard a curious thud followed by more gurgling. This caused Ginger's licentious grin to disappear and his hands to stop their infernal wandering, much to Terra's relief. "Charley? What the hell you doin'?"

Behind Ginger's head, Terra caught a glimpse of sunshine. "Sorry, Red. Charley's dead," said an all too familiar voice. Before the slaver could turn around, a large and perfectly round icicle burst through his mouth, wedging his jaw open and sending blood and broken teeth flying. It kept growing, enough that Terra actually saw him look down to watch it. Realization dawned on him on what was transpiring before giving her a pleading look, as if she could fix whatever was happening to him. As if she could with sealed magic. This whole exchange felt to Terra as if it were a lifetime, but in reality had occurred in the span of a quick second. The voice continued, "And so are you."

Two hands gripped him by his locked jaws and quickly twisted, producing a wet snap and newly minted dead body. He fell to the ground beside her rewarding Terra with the greatest sight she could ever behold; a scratched, bleeding, and generally disheveled Celes standing over her. Her Celes had come for her in a violent rescue! Terra was so happy that she nearly wanted to cry.

The raging scowl on Celes' face softened as she bent down to undo the fabric around Terra's mouth. As Celes went to work, Terra took notice of all the injuries on the other woman. A bleeding gash on her forehead, several cuts on her face, another bleeding gash on her arm, and... Why was her foot and lower leg encased in ice?

The gag had only just been removed when Celes was suddenly sent flying with a spurt of blood. She hit the side of a nearby rail car with a THWOK and collapsed to the ground in a heap. Terra cried out in surprise before noticing the incredibly large gentleman demanding her attention. He was large, like an amalgamation of FireBeard, Sabin, and a chocolate glazed roast ham. He flexed his meaty fist before flexing his tree trunk of an arm.

DADA:  
Oh, my… I truly hope she's okay. I didn't mean to hit her as hard as I did. I really just don't know own strength sometimes.

TERRA:  
*nervously*  
What do you want?

DADA:  
Why, I'm merely here to make sure that everyone arrives to their destination safely!

TERRA:  
So, you're here to take us all to Jidoor?

DADA:  
Oh, heavens no! You don't want to go to Jidoor, sweetie! That hovel is full of greed and thieves! Nasty, horrible place! A plain looking girl like you will surely be gang-raped five minutes there!

The rail car that Celes had been thrown at suddenly is lifted into the air revealing Sabin, who has Celes' sword strapped his back, and Locke. It is thrown to the side much to the surprise of all parties involved save Sabin.

SABIN:  
Hey, Dadaluma! Leave the girl out of this!

He leaps into the air and lands in between Terra and Dadaluma.

TERRA:  
Sabin!

SABIN:  
This is between you and me now.

DADA:  
Oh, my! You're that same handsome fellow that flirted with me a few minutes ago! I'm not a fighter, handsome! I may just have to let you win this fight until another day!

SABIN:  
Will you start making sense?! You punched me in the jaw! Your muscles have muscles! You wear judogi pants! That makes you a fighter! *pauses* And stop giving gay men a bad name!

DADA:  
Oh, I really don't want to fight, sugar, nor do I enjoy the company of a good man.  
*sighs*  
But if I must! I get a slight squeamish at the sight of blood!

The two fight. Locke appears at Terra.

LOCKE:  
You okay?

TERRA:  
Celes is hurt! I need to get to her!

He removes her bindings.

LOCKE:  
Sabin! Keep him off our backs!

SABIN:  
Got it!

Terra runs to Celes and kneels beside her. She attempts curative magic but nothing happens. Again, Locke appears beside her.

TERRA:  
No, no, no!

LOCKE:  
So, when did metal chokers become your fashion statement?

TERRA:  
I think it's sealing my magic! I can't heal her!

LOCKE:  
Let me see it.

TERRA:  
Hurry, Locke! She's not breathing!

A dagger suddenly impales the ground between them. They both lean back in surprise for a moment before moving forward again so that Locke can pick the lock.

LOCKE:  
Argh! It's too complex!

Another dagger suddenly appears in the ground.

LOCKE:  
And this jackass throwing daggers at us isn't helping!

SABIN:  
You guys can step in to help at any time!

Another dagger appears.

LOCKE:  
Hey, these are made of Mythril!

TERRA:  
You got anything else you want to throw at us, you jerk?!

A pair of leather gloves smack Locke in the face. Runes on the cuffs glow as Locke holds them.

LOCKE:  
I think these are Thief's Gloves!

He slips them on.

LOCKE:  
Charms for deft hands and increases in luck, sneaking, and lock picking…

He takes another crack at the lock on Terra's neck. The metallic hoop splits in half and falls to the ground. There is a flash of rainbow and Terra is suddenly a cat-girl once more. She looks at her hands in shock for a brief moment before using curative magic on Celes.

LOCKE:  
*awed*  
Sah-weet…!

He leaps to his feet and bounds off to help Sabin. Celes suddenly sits up with an overly exaggerated gasp for air.

CELES:  
*confused*  
I'm- I'm alive?

Terra squeals in happiness and hugs her tightly.

CELES:  
*con't*  
Terra! You're killing me!

Locke suddenly flies into Terra, knocking her and her squeal from Celes arms.

LOCKE:  
Hi.

CELES:  
Uh, hi.

LOCKE:  
You girls gonna help us or what?

Sabin skids to a stop nearby.

SABIN:  
Baldur's Gate, this guy's tough! His damn flunkies keep showing up to distract me!

He removes Celes' blade from his back and stabs it into the ground.

SABIN:  
*con't*  
I think this is yours, by the way.

He bounds back into the fray. Locke follows. Terra stands and pulls her katana free.

TERRA:  
Celes, hang back and support us the best you can.

CELES:  
*surprised*  
Wait. What? I'm a tank! I don't know any support magic!

Terra points in Dadaluma's direction with one of her blades.

TERRA:  
*pissed*  
Muscle-man is mine.

DADA:  
Oh, please be gentle with me, big girl! I'm a fragile little flower!

TERRA:  
*pissed*  
Fragile, my bloody arse.

CELES:  
Wait a second! Terra!

Terra takes off running into the fray, her twin blades trailing behind for balance. She dodges to the left to avoid a scythe swinging flunkie, who is immediately blasted with ice courtesy of Celes. She then dodges to the right to avoid another gentleman who is suddenly and screamingly engulfed in six-foot flames. She passes and cures Locke who was on the receiving end of a punch to the stomach. She passes Sabin who is swinging bad guys around like ragdolls and performs a run-by stabbing on a baddie who had snuck up behind him. Flunkies move in to protect their boss from the oncoming freight train that is Terra.

She casts Float on the slaver rushing to greet her. She immediately stops her momentum before they crash headlong into each other and, after using Gravity to alter the gravity orientation of her hand, guts him with the hilt of her left blade. The force of her hit, and the lack of gravity for him, causes him to fly higher than physics would normally allow. She casts Float on herself (thus cancelling the gravity effect on her hand), leaps into the air (narrowly missing two other slavers diving at her), and smacks him back down to the earth and into several of his comrades. They all go down in a heaping pile that is suddenly in the center of an exploding fireball. Terra lands on the other side, nose to nipple with Dadaluma. She frowns at him.

DADA:  
*stammers*  
What- What are you?!

TERRA:  
*pissed*  
You hurt Celes. That makes me very angry.

He suddenly points behind her.

DADA:  
*panicked*  
What the hell is that?!

TERRA:  
…?

A MagiTech Armor smashes through an overturned boxcar, threatening to blast the tied up civilians. This threat is short lived after Celes fills the cockpit with ice. Terra looks behind her to find that Dadaluma is nowhere to be found. She joins the rest of the group in untying the civilians.

* * *

 _Ending Scene Variations: Script version._

Terra and Celes are sitting on the top of an overturned boxcar, legs dangling over the side and watching the sun set over the ocean.

CELES:  
You're not a monster.

TERRA:  
*teary*  
I am so a monster. He said so. I saw the fear in his eyes. I killed those men without a second thought.

CELES:  
Stop it. You are not a monster.

TERRA:  
Monsters look like cats and kill people with fire.  
*sniffles*  
And gravity.

CELES:  
*sighs*  
Terra, real monsters kidnap people and sell them into slavery. Real monsters take advantage of people when they can't fight back. You do neither of those things.

Terra nods, but remains forlorn.

TERRA:  
I need a shower. I feel unclean.

Celes hugs her.

CELES:  
I know, sweetie. When we get to Jidoor.

Terra nods and gives a Celes a quick kiss.

TERRA:  
Celes?

CELES:  
Yeah?

TERRA:  
The sunset's pretty.

CELES:  
It's not as pretty as you.

Terra smirks and lays down with her head in Celes' lap. Celes absentmindedly soothes her hair. It isn't long before Terra starts purring. The two watch the sun dip below the ocean.

* * *

 _Drunk Terra ending. (Snippet.)_  
 _Notes: All that remains of an ending that relied on an "off screen" plot point where Celes failed in saving Terra from the slavers, resulting in Terra and Maria getting brutally molested. Afterward, Terra gets drunk to numb the emotional pain. Ultimately, the whole thing was deemed way too dark compared to the rest of the story, and was cut altogether._

TERRA:  
*slurred*  
I just kill people with fire.  
*hiccups*  
And gravity.

CELES:  
You remember what I told you? In South Figaro?

Terra hiccups again and remains forlorn.

CELES:  
*sighs*  
It's us or them. Frankly, I'd rather it be them. I'm quite attached to living.

TERRA:  
*slurred*  
But-

CELES:  
And I'm quite attached to you. So knock it off.

* * *

 _Biggs and Wedge scene. (Early variation.)_  
 _Notes: Filler scene that was later reused in chapter fifteen._

"Do you ever question why we're here, sir?"

Wedge looked up from his book and over to Vicks. The two of them, having fixed their troublesome MagiTech Armors, were standing guard over the Narshean esper. Although, Wedge did wonder sometimes what they were actually guarding it from. Since the battle on the summit, no one from the Empire had come creeping back. There hadn't even been curious townsfolk about for a quick peek, just the two men and their deadly bipedal mechas. He had to wonder if this was what Vicks was referring. "You having second thoughts about joining the Returners?" he asked.

Biggs looked surprised at that line of questioning. "What? Hardly, sir!" he exclaimed. "You can't go wrong with free coffee in the morning."

"Then what do you mean? I can't think of another definition for 'here'."

"What I meant was do you ever wonder what our purpose is in life?"

"I…actually never thought about it," Wedge said slowly.

"I've been thinking about it a lot, sir," Biggs said. "I feel like I've served my purpose and am no longer useful."

"Like you've overstayed your welcome?"

"Like a character no longer needed in a story."

Wedge nodded in agreement. He did indeed feel like that occasionally, quite often actually. Ultimately, he suspected that they were feeling this way due to the ungodly boredom that one usually felt in a podunk remote town such as Narshe. However, there was one thing that he was thankful for; he still had his health. Events that had occurred here in Narshe could have played out with very different outcomes. Just thinking about it made him wish he could stop thinking about it.

* * *

 _Chapter Fourteen:_  
 _On Our Way to Zozo_

 _"The man who'd slit his mum's throat for a Figarian nickel."_  
 _Notes: Shadow's cut introduction._

Nightfall came, forcing the four to set up camp just off the beaten path within a cave within the mountain. Before retiring to her tent, Celes approached Sabin, who was scanning the landscape from the mouth. He seemed to be on edge.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I dunno," he replied. "Something doesn't feel right."

"You think Vargas is tailing us?"

"I'm not sure, Celes. I just know what I'm sensing." He sniffed the air. "Be careful sleeping tonight."

* * *

Celes was startled awake by subtle panicked breathing in her ear. She couldn't see, but judging from the soft furriness she felt on her unclothed body, Terra was clutching to her like a frightened cat. Something was wrong. The atmosphere was tense, suffocating. It quiet, deafeningly so. Through the ringing in her ears, she picked up on something audible outside the tent. Footsteps. Faint footsteps. If the ground outside the tent had been smooth dirt and not the rocky gravel it was, she'd never heard it. It wasn't Sabin. He lumbered about like a megalodoth. It could have been Locke, but Locke wouldn't sneak around camp like this. Not around them.

Celes gave Terra a pat on her hip to reassure her before slowly and quietly reaching for the hilt of her blade. If she could get out of the bed roll and the tent quietly enough, it was possible that she'd be able to rush whoever was skulking about. First one leg, then the second. So far so good. Barely a sound made. She was vaguely aware of Terra following suit.

Celes tried to keep calm, but her heart was trying to beat itself out of her chest. When she pushed the flap open to step out into the dark cavern, an absurd thought briefly flashed itself into existence. She was heading blindly into a possible battle stark raving naked. This was definitely a first and not something she imagined would happen in her life. Ever.

The only light in the cavern came from the ember remains of their campfire, but the glow was so dull and lackluster that it made the rest of the darkness darker than it should have been. She paused to listen to the environment. Her eyes would be useless here. She'd have to rely purely on her ears.

Surprisingly, Terra prevented her from taking the lead to do so herself. She led Celes by the hand to the mouth of the cave before stopping there. The light was more plentiful here, courtesy of the stars in the sky, which allowed her to see why Terra stopped. In the middle of the path, stood a shadow figure. It was a full head taller than Celes and half as bulky as Sabin.

It was a standoff. Neither party moved. Terra, however, did give off a feline growl before hissing. She was becoming more and more cat-like as the days rolled on. A dog in the distance made itself known by responding to Terra in canine kind. Celes readied her blade in anticipation of the attack that could come.

A man in all black accompanied by a dog… She knew this man or, more accurately, his reputation. "You're Shadow, aren't you?" she asked flatly. "The man who'd slit his mum's throat for a Figarian nickel."

There was no response.

"Why are you here? The Empire?"

Again, there was no response.

* * *

 _Why Locke hides his Kohlingen accent._

Locke approaches Celes sitting at the campfire and touches her shoulder.

LOCKE:  
Get some rest, Lady. I'll take over from here.

CELES:  
*yawns*  
Snap. Is it that time already?

She vacates the log she had been sitting on and stretches out of the ground near the fire. Locke takes her place.

LOCKE:  
Uh, you're going to sleep there?

CELES:  
And be crushed in my sleep by that cave collapsing? No, thanks. Also, Terra and Sabin's snoring combined sounds like a damn freight train.

LOCKE:  
*chuckles*  
Understandable.

Silence.

CELES:  
Hey, Locke. Can I ask you a question?

LOCKE:  
Sure.

CELES:  
Why do you hide your Kohlingen accent?

LOCKE:  
…

CELES:  
I know they sound like retarded buffoons, no offence, but why?

LOCKE:  
You just answered your own question. Why ask?

CELES:  
Just indulging in my curiosity.

LOCKE:  
Fair enough.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
It's true. We Kohlingers have a very…peculiar way of speaking, one that makes us sound uneducated anywhere else. The first skill my father taught me in becoming a treasure hunter was to mask how I spoke. He taught me to speak in such a way that no one could pinpoint my place of origin and attack my family in revenge.

Celes sits up.

CELES:  
Why would a corn farmer raise his son to be a thief?

LOCKE:  
Oh, for the love of- I'm a treasure hunter, not a thief. I take from the rich, thieves, and anything just lying around in caves and dungeons. I don't steal from those who are struggling to make ends meet. There is a difference.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
Wait. Who told you my father was a corn farmer?

CELES:  
Some crazy old bugger we ran into in Kohlingen. Claimed your father was a corn farmer and that he was hiding your partially alive fiancé in a basement or something.

LOCKE:  
Oh, THAT guy. Forget what he told you. He's just a nosy-ass crackpot who can't even remember his own damn name.

CELES:  
I see.

LOCKE:  
Look. I got caught with Edgar the last time we passed through on Returner business. I know the story he spouts, so I'll tell you the same thing I told him. My father was a treasure hunter, not a farmer. Where this guy got that idea, I don't know. And I do know a girl named Rachel, who did have amnesia for a while, but she got better. Also, she's very much alive.

CELES:  
I see. And I here I was starting to sympathize with you.

LOCKE:  
Because you saw a parallel between us?

CELES:  
Something like that.

LOCKE:  
*laughs*  
I appreciate the thought, Celes, even if it was misguided. If it's any consolation, I think Terra's lucky to have someone as patient and loving as you by her side. I know what it's like having amnesia. It's not a walk in the park.

Celes nods.

* * *

 _Celes muses over leaving the Empire. (Short version)_

Celes couldn't keep her own smile or the fire in her cheeks at bay. She had no money, no home to her name, and not even a country to swear allegiance to. All she had were the clothes on her back, the adorable girl by her side, and the bottle of bourbon that Terra was smashing back like a champ. She felt glad that things had turned out the way they had. Who would have thought that leaving the Empire behind would bring her closer to those she held dear? Who would have thought that she had smiled more in the last several weeks than she had in the last two years? Who would have thought that the teeny, tiny Terra could pack away more alcohol than she could?

* * *

 _Dicks in the military and Terra likes cleavage._

"How come you don't flaunt yourself like Maria?"

"She and I come from different worlds, sweetie," Celes said. "She more than likely grew up armed with a silver spoon and was taught that in order to get what she wants all she needs to do is flaunt some skin and act cute. You and I were raised with silver swords and taught to fight for what we need. There was no acting cute in the military unless you wanted actual dicks in your face twenty-four/seven."

"Is that why you dress like a guy?"

"Partially. Also to stop arseholes from staring at my freaking bottomless cleavage."

"It doesn't stop me," Terra said with a sly grin.

Celes laughed. "Well, that's alright. You're not an arsehole."

* * *

 _Locke's Past: Take Two (cut) and Vargas discussion. (Script version)_

The flirting in question had been awkward to watch, although not as completely one-sided as Locke had proclaimed. For Celes, it had been like watching herself drool stupidly over a man, a strange concept in itself. This briefly made her wonder if she had looked like that when she had been lovesick over Terra. Of course, she had nothing against Locke. He was a good looking fellow in a scampy sort of way; quiet, good natured, and occasionally daring. She could partially see why Maria would be fawning over him. He was the complete opposite of any boorish Jidoorian man she had ever met. Actually, scratch that. He was the opposite of any man she had ever met.

TERRA:  
Poor Rachel.

CELES:  
*hushed*  
Terra!

TERRA:  
What?

LOCKE:  
Wait. How do you know about Rachel? No, wait. Crazy old guy? Talked a mile a minute? Claimed my father was a "kern spesh-ee-a-list"?

SABIN:  
Sounds like him!

LOCKE:  
Ugh. That bastard.

CELES:  
So… Were we not supposed to know any of your past?

LOCKE:  
No, it's not that. It's just that I don't appreciate some old codger going around pulling shit from his ass and forcing people to smell it like it's a bouquet of roses.

SABIN:  
Isn't that Kohlingen in a nutshell?

Silence.

LOCKE:  
Touché.

TERRA:  
We were forced to listen to lies? …That's not very nice.

CELES:  
Want me to freeze his bollocks and smash 'em to pieces?

Silence. Terra eventually sighs.

TERRA:  
Oh, Celes…

CELES:  
What?

LOCKE:  
Look. Just leave the crazy old coot be. I don't even think he's all there in the head any longer.

CELES:  
Fine. Fine. But now I'm curious. What was fact and what was fiction?

Silence.

LOCKE:  
I have to answer that, don't I?

Sabin slaps a hand on his shoulder.

SABIN:  
You do now, buddy.

LOCKE:  
God dammit. Alright. Look, my dad was a treasure hunter. He's the reason I took it up. And as far as Rachel goes, we were engaged, yes. She did hit her head and suffer from amnesia briefly, but she never died in an Imperial attack and neither is she sleeping eternally in some crackpot's basement.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
*sighs*  
The whole thing is rather complicated and I'd rather not get into it.

TERRA:  
Aw, why not?

CELES:  
*hushed*  
Terra!

Their traveling to Zozo had carried on in much this same manner. No surprises, just the four of them and their chocobos moving along at a steady pace. The conversation had been light-hearted until it turned to Sabin's history with the slaver Vargas, or Dadaluma as he called himself. At this point, Celes and Terra had fallen silent as much of the exchange switched between Locke's questions and Sabin's musings.

LOCKE:  
Any idea as to why Vargas would suddenly want to sell people into slavery?

SABIN:  
Money?

LOCKE:  
*scoffs*  
Besides that.

SABIN:  
*shrugs*  
No idea. He'd always been an asshole anyway. Maybe he just figured out a way to be an asshole and make money off it?

LOCKE:  
And I thought you said he died during the fight with Ultros.

SABIN:  
I didn't actually watch him die. I just assumed he had. I mean, what're the chances of someone getting thrown off a cliff and surviving?

CELES:  
I'd have assumed the same.

Regarding Vargas the group was back to square one. They had questions, but no answers to how or why the son of the greatest martial artist in the world would stoop to such a deplorable act as slave trading. His connection to the Empire was even more troubling and just as unknown. Any reasoning or explanation that any of them could conjure would simply be conjecture.

This did raise a red flag with Celes. Did the Empire use slaves for experimentation? Could she have been a product of such a situation? Could Terra? Did the two of them have parents out there who had given up on finding their missing children? It was a possibility that she couldn't rule out. She couldn't, no, wouldn't rule out anything where the Empire was involved.

To think that at one time she had been so full of loyalty to the Empire. Now… Now she wanted nothing more than to watch it burn to ash from which no living thing could rise.

* * *

 _Ramuh refuses to discuss Terra's exact heritage._

The old man laughed in a loud, boisterous, infectious sort of way. He rose from his chair, revealing his full height. In Terra's amazement, she realized that he had to have been at least three heads taller than her. "Of course, I can speak it!" he said as his beard and mustache turned upwards. "My apologies, little one. I assumed you spoke Esperian. For the time being, the four of you may relax. You are no longer in danger from that which is Zozo."

SABIN:  
I always imagined that Zozo was dangerous, but we had little difficulty in getting here.

RAMUH:  
*grins*  
That's because I helped you arrive here safely.

CELES:  
What.

RAMUH:  
I wanted to meet the girl whose magic I felt awaken.

TERRA:  
…

CELES:  
For what purpose?

RAMUH:  
I will get to that in time, if you will so graciously allow me.

The group share a silent look.

CELES:  
*apologetic*  
Sorry.

Sabin snickers.

RAMUH:  
Who are you, little one?

TERRA:  
My…my name is Terra, but I…don't really know who I am.

RAMUH:  
Terra, you say? And you lack knowledge on your identity? Interesting. Very interesting.

CELES:  
You know something, old man?

RAMUH:  
Why, yes. Yes, I might. Live as old as me, you might end up knowing something as well.

LOCKE:  
*whispers to Celes*  
If you live as old as him, I'd hate to imagine what your chest would-

Celes backhands him over her shoulder. Ramuh approaches Terra, flips back her hood, grips both her cheeks with one hand, and twists her head to look her over.

RAMUH:  
Ah, yes. I see. Terra, was it? I bet you're wondering why you appear as you do, correct?

Terra nods.

RAMUH:  
Allow me to impart some wisdom to you to help you control this ability.

Ramuh and Terra glow. She suddenly transforms back to her normal self. The rest of the group watch in amazement.

LOCKE:  
Oh, wow!

TERRA:  
I'm normal!

RAMUH:  
To be fair, no matter which form you take you are normal. It is as much a part of you as your voice or your heart. However, you will find that as a human your magic, strength, and speed are now limited. Remember well the spell I just taught you to change back, but use it sparingly if you wish to retain your identity. The more you adopt your beast form, the greater your lust for blood will become. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't overwhelm you.

CELES:  
Did you just teach her a spell without us even knowing?

RAMUH:  
Of course. It is an ability all of us espers possess.

TERRA:  
Am I an esper? Is…is that why I'm different?

RAMUH:  
Not quite. I suppose I should explain. I am Ramuh, Sage of the Espers. Although, I suppose you already knew the esper part since you managed to seek me out.

LOCKE:  
Wait a second. This has been bugging me since Banon sent us to locate you. Don't espers live in another dimension separate from ours?

RAMUH:  
We are originally from this one, so that does not mean there is anything stopping us from living here. We also come in a variety of forms; cats, bulls, warthogs, naked women. If you can imagine it, it exists. My appearance is bland according to human tastes, so I can live here as one without fear of being discovered.

SABIN:  
But why hide the fact that you're an esper?

CELES:  
The Empire, Sabin.

SABIN:  
Oh, right.

RAMUH:  
Correct. Humans and espers are incompatible creatures with no hope of…burying the hatchet as you people say.

LOCKE:  
But my grandma told me that humans and espers once lived side by side. Was that just a bedtime story?

RAMUH:  
Your grandmother was indeed correct as this was true at one point in history. Human and esper once shared this planet together. Some boners on both sides of the line led to the War of the Magi. One thousand years ago, we fought a mankind that had been infused with magic power stolen from us, much like the Empire's MagiTek Knights. It was a long drawn out battle, but once our greatest fighter Odin fell, we knew we had to escape to a realm created for us by us. We feared that if we remained here we would eventually be wiped out and made to go the way of the dodo. However, there were a few humans who sympathized with us and joined us in our cause. They were few, far between, and suffered prejudice at the hands of us. You could also say the opposite was true as well.

CELES:  
There were espers that betrayed their own kind?

TERRA:  
Why would they do that?

RAMUH:  
Misguided fools with misguided notions that power hungry humans would spare them. Not all humans are mad, power hungry zealots. This I know. But not all of us espers were not guilty of goading the humans into reacting this way. Ancient history and irrelevant to the troubles of today, I assure you. Approximately twenty human years ago, humans who knew of us and what we possessed stumbled upon our hidden realm. Thus began the hunt for our abilities and powers to create an army of invincible super humans.

LOCKE:  
The Empire.

CELES:  
…

RAMUH:  
Correct. As soon as we realized what was happening, I ordered the gate sealed and forced the humans out. It was a battle of epic proportions the resulted in several of us being captured to be drained of our powers or, like myself, forever stuck in this dimension and in constant hiding.

TERRA:  
What does all of that have to do with me? You said you'd explain, but…

RAMUH:  
We have much to discuss, little one, but be aware that some things are not my place to discuss.

Ramuh lifts Terra's head up by the chin.

RAMUH:  
All I can say is that I helped bring you into the world and, after the incident that separated us all, I've spent all this time searching for you. And now here you are.

* * *

 _Terra remains calm upon learning her heritage._

SABIN:  
I always imagined that Zozo was dangerous, but we had little difficulty in getting here.

RAMUH:  
*grins*  
That's because I helped you arrive here safely.

CELES:  
Why? How?

RAMUH:  
The second, I'm sure you have already guessed. The first… Tina, do you remember me?

Terra blinks in confusion before looking to Celes in support, who just stares at Ramuh in shock.

TERRA:  
Do…do I know you?

CELES:  
You know who she is.

RAMUH:  
Indeed. I recognized her magical field the moment I felt it weeks ago. Hence, why I called her here. Why I allowed myself to be spotted as an esper.

CELES:  
You wanted her to find you.

RAMUH:  
Indeed. Now, little one, you seemed confused when I called you 'Tina'. Why is that?

TERRA:  
My…My name is Terra, but…I don't know who or what I am.

RAMUH:  
Terra, you say? And you lack knowledge on your identity? Interesting. Very interesting.

CELES:  
You know something, old man?

RAMUH:  
Why, yes. I might. Live as old as me, you might end up knowing something as well. And please, call me Ramuh.

LOCKE:  
*whispers to Celes*  
If you live as old as him, I'd hate to imagine what your chest would-

Celes backhands him over her shoulder. Ramuh approaches Terra, flips back her hood, grips both her cheeks with one hand, and twists her head to look her over.

RAMUH:  
Ah, yes. I see. Terra, was it? I bet you're wondering why you appear as you do, correct?

Terra nods.

RAMUH:  
Allow me to impart some wisdom to help you control this runaway ability of yours.

Ramuh and Terra glow. She suddenly transforms back to her normal self. The rest of the group watch in amazement.

LOCKE:  
Oh, wow!

TERRA:  
I'm normal!

RAMUH:  
To be fair, no matter which form you take you are normal. It is as much a part of you as your voice or your heart. However, you will find that as a human your magic, strength, and speed are now limited. Remember well the spell I just taught you to change back, but use it sparingly if you wish to retain your identity. The more you adopt your beast form, the greater your lust for blood will become. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't overwhelm you.

CELES:  
Did you just teach her a spell without us even knowing?

RAMUH:  
Of course. It is an ability all of us espers possess.

TERRA:  
Am I an esper? Is…is that why I'm different?

RAMUH:  
Not quite. I suppose I should explain. For a very long time, humans and espers believed that they were incompatible together. Hence, the War of the Magi. Hence, we espers fashioning a realm for us to live in safety. However, we soon discovered that the two races were more alike than we thought.

TERRA:  
Queen Frigg Asgard…

RAMUH:  
*surprised*  
Yes. Very good. You know of her. And considering that I can feel Odin's presence, you have even met her her remains. How I won't ask, but this makes things easier. In fact, your angry friend here bears a remarkable resemblance to her, both in appearance and magical presence.

CELES:  
*blinks*  
Magical presence?

TERRA:  
You mean her magical field?

RAMUH:  
Close enough. All living creatures give off a magical footprint that is unique to them. Think of it as an aspect of personality that those sensitive to magic can feel.

CELES:  
Now wait a second, if I remind you of her that means…

RAMUH:  
I brought her into the world, much like I did Tina. I wasn't a highly respected esper sage for nothing. But we are getting off topic. Queen Asgard was a half-cast. Half-esper, half-human, borne from the union of an Asgard prince and an esper humanoid female. The only one until Tina came along.

TERRA:  
I'm…a half-esper?

CELES:  
I bloody knew it.

LOCKE:  
Wait. I'm confused. Does this mean you're over a thousand years old?

RAMUH:  
In human years, yes. What most humans fail to understand is that time flows differently in our little realm. In fact, it practically doesn't. A time stand-still, if you will. To further shock you, "Terra," as you know her, was born in the esper realm just after the end of the War of the Magi.

Terra falls to her knees, while everyone else gasps in surprise.

RAMUH:  
How you came to be called "Terra" I am curious about as your mother named you "Tina". I had assumed that you merely had been lost in this world when the Empire had attacked and raised by an unsuspecting human family.

TERRA:  
I…I don't remember…anything.

CELES:  
Terra and I grew up together. I can tell you that she spent a good chunk of this time in Imperial military hands as a soldier and then a slave to Kefka. What happened before I met her, I can't say. She never- No, refused to tell me.

Terra embraces Celes in a hug.

RAMUH:  
*sighs*  
So you were captured… I had feared it.

LOCKE:  
You said the Empire attacked. What happened?

RAMUH:  
I am afraid that will be all for this evening. Terra has much to absorb and I fear of overloading her with too much in one go. Plus, I am sure that you all are tired from your journey. Get some rest this evening. We can trade information in the morning.

* * *

 _Chapter Fifteen:_  
 _The Struggling Exposition_

 _Celes brushes Terra's hair. Variation 1._

Celes tried to find meaning within the dancing flames nestled in the bricked fireplace. Hope was placed in finding an interpretation that would give her answers. Sadly, nothing useful came from the fire. No ideas. No answers. No inspiration. Only memories and reflection.

She never would have thought that the esper Banon had sent them searching for would turn out to be one who knew Terra, no less one who had brought her into the world. She never would have thought that she'd discover that her theory of Terra's source of power would be on the right track; a half-esper who had been born during the War of the Magi. Nor did she imagine that she'd ever hear that Terra had been at one time named Tina. She'd never be able to call her by that name. Terra had always been Terra, for as long as she knew. But Terra hadn't been the one who introduced herself back then. That award went to General Leo when he had dropped her off at the academy all those years ago. Maybe Terra, the old Terra, had known this information all along and just never shared it. Speculation dictated that there had never been a need to do so. On the downside, this Terra, the one sobbing alone outside, had had no clue and didn't know how to handle it all when it had been presented to her.

Celes slumped forward with a sigh. She had tried bringing Terra back in from the rain. "You're going to catch your death of a cold out here," she had said, but Terra had just buried herself deeper into her knees. Short of picking the girl up and slinging her over a shoulder, there hadn't been much else Celes could do to convince her to come back inside. She hadn't wanted to, but Ramuh had made it clear that Terra needed time to process the information. He had had more to share with the group, but had decided to postpone the discussion until Terra's green-haired head was back on straight. "It is in her best interests," he had said.

Celes had no idea how long she had been sitting in front of this fire. Minutes? Hours? Ramuh had retired long ago with murmurs of "Make yourselves at home." Locke and Sabin had hit their sacks not long after him, leaving Celes entranced with the fire's dance and Terra curled in a moist ball outside. At least, that had been Terra's last known location. Celes realized that this was no longer the case when she felt a wet touch at her shoulder. A look was not necessary to know who it belonged to. Celes could tell from the presence alone; a saddened presence and one that made her heart ache.

She disengaged from the flame to peer up at the other woman. Terra was shivering so hard that she was having trouble standing upright. Her hair was flattened, disheveled, knotted, and dripping. Her clothes were so wet that her dress clung to her legs and thighs like cling film to glass. Her chattering teeth sounded like a mechanical rabbit repeatedly thumping its foot on the ground. The most damaging of her appearance had been her eyes: swollen, bloodshot, and weary from tears. Overall, Terra was a walking posterchild for flood victim charities.

Celes stood and brushed drenched hair from Terra's face. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered. "You're soaked to the bone." Terra only nodded and averted her gaze in the darkness. If anything, she looked defeated. Suspicion was high that this was more embarrassment and exhaustion than anything else. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes." Celes inwardly frowned. Unfortunately, neither one of them had other clothing with them. Looked like Terra was going to have to wear a sleeping bag again.

She took Terra by the hand and led her into a room away from probable spying eyes. "Go and get undressed," she said. "I'll get a sleeping bag ready for you." She also thought it wise to grab Terra's hairbrush. That girl's hair was a mess and needed some attention before the knots dried and became further tangled. It hadn't been until she had both items in hand did Celes realize that Terra was just standing there, motionless with a self-deprecating frown.

At this juncture, Celes realized that she was going to have to help remove articles of clothing. Surprisingly, this went over with little fuss. Boots and stockings were removed. Terra's dress was peeled off over her head like a stubborn rubber sleeve. After an internal debate, knickers had been removed on the grounds that they were so soaked they were translucent. They were hung to dry along with everything else.

No sooner had Celes wrapped Terra in the sleeping bag, she found herself on the receiving end of a stare. This hadn't been one of Terra's usual timid, inquisitive stares. This had been a stare of someone on the verge of an emotional breakdown; uncaring and silently panicked. Terra whispered between her chattering teeth, "You don't see me differently. Why?"

Celes smiled and shook her head. "Of course I don't," she said before lightly tapping a finger on Terra's forehead. "What matters is in here. You're still the same person unless I'm mistaken."

Terra's tears started falling again leaving Celes feeling overwhelmed by it all. "I'm sorry," Terra murmured. "I'm being stupid."

"You were given some shocking news, sweetie," Celes said as she wiped tears from puffy eyes. "I think you're handling it rather well. Better than I would have, at any rate."

Terra nodded without enthusiasm, but attempted a smile regardless. "You would have called someone an arsehole and stormed off."

"There's that smile. For a moment I thought it had disappeared for good." In response, Terra withdrew shyly within her sleeping bag wrap.

It didn't take much goading to get Terra seated on a sleeping bag in front of the fire. It also hadn't taken much to convince her to allow Celes to brush the kinks out of her hair, despite some initial confusion on Terra's part. Before things had separated them, this had been a common occurrence. Celes had always loved brushing Terra's hair. It was a whole different experience when compared to her own thin and limp poor excuse for hair. Terra's curls were thick as tree vines and softer than a baby duckling's butt.

In the past, Terra had squirmed with every careful brushing. In the now, Terra sat between Celes' legs silently putting up with the occasional tug on a knot and every soothing brush stroke in between. Neither woman said a word, something Celes found odd. She was surprised that Terra hadn't brought up her new found ancestry. She was surprised that Terra hadn't even commented on, well, anything else that had transpired in the last day. She was tempted to start a conversation, but had a feeling that she'd receive a one-word answer, completely shutting the whole thing down. So they carried on with only the sounds of the crackling fire and the snoring Sabin in the other room to keep them company. How Locke was managing to sleep with that freight train rolling by, Celes had no idea. This, of course, was based on the assumption that Locke was asleep in the first place.

Once the brushing had been completed, Celes had felt a slender hand touch the inside of her thigh. She could have addressed it, but chose to remain silent. The crimson in her face would have told all if Terra had looked back.

* * *

 _Snippet._

Upon finishing, Terra leaned back into her chest and stared sideways at her. Her eyes were trying to tell Celes something; what she didn't know, but that look made her butterflies flighty in her stomach.

* * *

 _Celes brushes Terra's hair. Variation 2._

Celes had no idea how long she had been sitting in front of this fire. Minutes? Hours? Ramuh had retired long ago with murmurs of "Make yourselves at home." Locke and Sabin had hit their sacks not long after him, leaving Celes entranced with the fire's dance and Terra curled in a moist ball outside. At least, that had been Terra's last known location. Celes realized that this was no longer the case when she felt a wet touch at her shoulder. A look was not necessary to know who it belonged to. Celes could tell from the presence alone; a saddened presence and one that made her heart ache.

She disengaged from the flame to peer up at the other woman. Terra was shivering so hard that she was having trouble standing upright. Her hair was disheveled, knotted, and dripping. Her dress was so wet that it clung to her legs, thighs, and torso like cling film to glass. Her chattering teeth sounded like a mechanical rabbit repeatedly thumping its foot on the ground. The most damaging of her appearance had been her eyes: swollen, bloodshot, and weary from tears. Overall, Terra was a walking posterchild for flood victim charities.

Celes stood and brushed drenched hair from Terra's face. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered. "You're soaked to the bone." Terra only nodded and averted her gaze in the darkness. If anything, she looked defeated. Suspicion was high that this was more embarrassment and exhaustion than anything else. "We need to get you out of those wet clothes." Celes inwardly frowned. Unfortunately, neither one of them had other clothing with them. It looked like Terra was going to have to wear a sleeping bag again.

She took Terra by the hand and led her into a room away from probable spying eyes. "Go and get undressed," she said. "I'll get a sleeping bag ready for you." She also thought it wise to grab Terra's hairbrush. That girl's hair was a mess and needed some attention before the knots dried and became further tangled. It hadn't been until she had both items in hand did Celes realize that Terra was just standing there, motionless with a self-deprecating frown.

At this juncture, Celes realized that she was going to have to help remove articles of clothing. Surprisingly, this went over with little fuss. Boots and stockings were removed. Terra's dress was peeled off over her head like a stubborn rubber sleeve. After an internal debate, knickers had been removed on the grounds that they were so soaked they were translucent. They were hung to dry along with everything else.

No sooner had Celes wrapped Terra in the sleeping bag, she found herself on the receiving end of a stare. This hadn't been one of Terra's usual timid, inquisitive, or star-struck stares. This had been a stare of someone on the verge of an emotional breakdown; uncaring and silently panicked. Terra whispered between her chattering teeth, "You don't see me differently. Why?"

Celes smiled and shook her head. "Of course I don't," she said before lightly tapping a finger on Terra's forehead. "Why should I? What matters is in here. You're still the same person unless I'm mistaken."

Terra's tears started falling again leaving Celes feeling overwhelmed by it all. "I'm sorry," Terra murmured. "I'm being stupid."

"You were given some shocking news, sweetie," Celes said as she wiped tears from puffy eyes. "I think you're handling it rather well. Better than I would have, at any rate."

Terra nodded without enthusiasm, but attempted a smile regardless. "You would have called someone an arsehole and stormed off."

"There's that smile. For a moment I thought it had disappeared for good." In response, Terra withdrew shyly within her sleeping bag wrap.

It didn't take much goading to get Terra seated on a sleeping bag in front of the fire. It also hadn't taken much to convince her to allow Celes to brush the kinks out of her hair, despite some initial confusion on Terra's part. Before things had separated them, this had been a common occurrence. Celes had always loved brushing Terra's hair. It was a whole different experience when compared to her own thin and limp poor excuse for hair. Terra's curls were thick as tree vines and softer than a baby duckling's butt.

In the past, Terra had squirmed with every careful brushing. In the now, Terra sat between Celes' legs silently putting up with the occasional tug on a knot and every soothing brush stroke in between. Neither woman said a word, something Celes found odd. She was surprised that Terra hadn't brought up her new found ancestry. She was also surprised that Terra hadn't even commented on, well, anything else that had transpired in the last several days. She attempted to start a conversation with, "I can't believe how long your hair has grown." Which was true. She couldn't. The last time she had run a brush through this lovely hair it had been shoulder length. Now, it hung just above the small of her back. Sadly, Terra responded with an unintelligible noise, completely shutting the whole thing down.

Celes carried on in silence until she was satisfied that every drying strand of green was kink and knot free. She set the brush aside, and gave Terra's shoulders a rub signaling that the deed was done. She made an attempt to get up, but stopped when she felt a slender hand touch the inside of her thigh. She should have addressed it, but chose to remain silent. The crimson in her face would have told all if Terra had looked back.

"Will you… Will you stay with me tonight?"

It took a moment for Celes to find her voice and when she did it wasn't the right one. It was cracked and a higher intonation than usual. Terra leaned back into her chest and stared sideways at her. Those eyes were trying to speak; what about she could only guess, but that look strung up her heart and made everything go aflutter. She had wanted to say, "Do I have a choice? Your bum is on my sleeping bag." Instead, what had come out had been a stuttered, "I won't go anywhere until you tell me so." It was quite a stark difference, one that left Celes wondering what had happened. It was those eyes, she reasoned. They made her do the things she secretly wanted, yet couldn't do on her own.

Terra seemed satisfied with that response and lightly brushed her lips against Celes's own. Celes, meanwhile, was stunned and attempted to figure out how the situation had gone from cheering the other girl up to…whatever this awkwardness was. "Will you hold me until I fall asleep?" came a soft whisper.

Celes found herself responding, "I'll hold whatever you want me to." She immediately kicked herself for her smooth talk or lack thereof.

* * *

 _"We don't always understand our emotions."_

TERRA:  
You're projecting.

CELES:  
No projection. You've always been the most honest person I've ever met. It's one of the reasons I'm so protective of you.

TERRA:  
I wish I knew why I feel about things the way I do. I just know that I have them and it confuses me.

CELES:  
That's part of life, sweetie. We don't always understand our emotions.

TERRA:  
I'm sorry. I'm being stupid.

CELES:  
Yes. Yes, you are. But you're allowed to be stupid considering the ball that was dropped on you.

* * *

 _Terra wakes up groped._

There were two things out of place that Terra noticed upon waking. One, she was nakeder than a defeathered blue jay. Two, there was a hand cupping one of her second bases. Her first instinct was flight and then fight from a safe distance.

* * *

 _"But you have boobs bigger than my head! I'm a bloody ironing board!"_

Celes noticed two things outside Ramuh's quaint little penthouse. One, it was still raining cats and dogs. No surprise there. Zozo wasn't called the City of Sunshine because of its continual basking in the sun. And two, Terra was just beside the entrance, hugging her knees, and wetter than a sword handling nymphomaniac under a lake. The look on Terra's face was one that could break even the hardest of hearts. And it had. Celes had always taken pride in having a heart made of ice, but she found herself fighting back sympathy tears regardless. She squatted near the tear stricken girl and brushed rain soaked hair from bloodshot eyes. "Why don't you come back inside?" she said with a smile. "You'll catch your death of a cold out here."

"I want to be alone," Terra said with the monotone of someone who had too much to think about.

Celes chuckled and brushed dirt from Terra's face. Well, she had actually ended up smearing mud all over, but it had been the thought that counted. "Sweetie, if you truly wanted to be alone, you wouldn't be sitting at a doorway begging for attention." She tried again to wipe the girl's face clear and this time was successful.

TERRA:  
No, I'm not. That's stupid.

CELES:  
So stupid that it's proving my point.  
*sighs*  
You're going to make me sit in a puddle of water, aren't you?

TERRA:  
I didn't ask you to come out here. Just leave me alone.

Celes sits next to Terra.

CELES:  
I made a promise that I'd protect you from anything, including yourself. I intend to keep that promise.

TERRA:  
I don't need protecting. I'm a monster. Can't you see that?

CELES:  
No. Is there a reason I should? As far as I'm concerned, what matters is up here. Not your genetic makeup.

TERRA:  
…I don't wear makeup.

CELES:  
*sighs*  
Your bloodline, sweetie.

TERRA:  
But I'm…old enough to be your great-grandmother times infinity.

CELES:  
And? Am I supposed to be intimidated by that?

TERRA:  
…Yes.

CELES:  
Pfft. Semantics. I asked you once how old you were. You remember what you told me?

Terra shakes her head.

CELES:  
You told me you were ten. That was eight years ago.

Silence.

CELES:  
My point is we grew up together. Yes, you might have been born in the distant past and spent some time in a timeless pocket universe, but as far as your body is concerned you've nearly completed the transition of childhood to womanhood. In other words, the same as me.

TERRA:  
But you're more woman that I am. I don't have boobs.

CELES:  
Now you're reaching for things to be upset about.

TERRA:  
But you have boobs bigger than my head! I'm a bloody ironing board!

CELES:  
Oh, shut up. I'm not that freaking huge and you're not that flat. Besides, what do tits even have to do with any of this?

Silence.

TERRA:  
What if I had lied about my age?

CELES:  
You? Lie?  
*laughs*  
Sweetie, you couldn't lie even if your life depended on it.

TERRA:  
But what if I had said it to protect you from the truth?

CELES:  
You would have avoided the subject completely, like how you did with my question.

Silence.

TERRA:  
I'm sorry. I'm being stupid.

Celes embraces Terra in a hug.

CELES:  
We're all allowed to be stupid sometimes, you especially considering the ball that got dropped on you. But you need to realize something: half-esper, born a thousand years ago, and, hell, even amnesia—these have not changed who you are. You're still that shy little sweetheart that I…saved from areseholes all those years ago.

Terra starts crying again.

TERRA:  
I'm sorry.

CELES:  
Stop apologizing.

Terra nods. Silence.

CELES:  
C'mon. Let's head inside.

Celes gets up to walk away, but is stopped.

TERRA:  
Thank you.

CELES:  
For what?

Terra stands, leaps into Celes, and kisses her in one swift continuous motion.

TERRA:  
For giving me what I needed.

Celes laughs.

CELES:  
You're welcome. Now, how about we both stop being stupid, get out of this rain, and dry out in front of the fire.

A dagger embeds in the wall between them.

* * *

 _Narrative Exposition (Dialogue version)_

Celes was glowing. At least, that was what Locke had teased when he and the amused Sabin had joined them at the table. Terra personally didn't see any light radiating out from anywhere, nor had she conjured up any fire that could have caused such phenomena. But it was true, Celes was glowing in a strange sort of figurative way. Even with getting angry at Locke, she still had a smile on her face and a brightness in her eyes that Terra had never seen before. She also couldn't help but notice that Celes had decided to keep a hand on her thigh. And she had decided to keep that hand warm with one of her own.

Ramuh rumbled a laugh from the head of the table. "Right. If we are all here we can continue on with last night's discussion." He stroked his gangly white beard and leaned forward in his chair. "Now, my memory isn't what it used to be. Where had we stopped?"

Locke was the first to speak up as he casually rubbed his head where Celes had bopped him one. "Actually, it might be best to start by explaining what espers are," he said. "I'm sure Celes knows a lot about them, but most of us raised outside the Empire know very little."

"I know just as much as you," Celes said. Her cheery disposition slid to that of a frown. "The higher ups were very tight-arsed and secretive about it all. To give you an idea, no one's allowed into the MagiTek Research Facility unless unconscious."

RAMUH:  
Very well. As you know, we espers are magic incarnate. We naturally can harness the powers of the cosmos and the void from birth, an act you humans cannot do without aid of some kind. Some of us are born as specialists in certain elements, while others can call upon multiple elements.

CELES:  
What kind of magic fashioned an entire realm for you to live in?

RAMUH:  
Something powerful enough that is beyond the reach of your Empire.

CELES:  
Fair enough. But why live here in constant fear when you could live there?

RAMUH:  
I am not here by choice, mind you. But honestly, aside from power hungry humans wanting to enslave us there is nothing stopping some of us from living here if we wanted to. We come in a variety of forms; cats, bulls, warthogs, naked women. If you can imagine it, one of us has that form. My appearance is bland according to human tastes, so I have been lucky enough to blend in without fear of being discovered. You would be surprised to know how many of us look no different to you.

SABIN:  
But why hide the fact that you're an esper?

CELES:  
The Empire, Sabin.

SABIN:  
Oh, right.

RAMUH:  
Indeed. As I've said before, the common belief is that humans and espers are incompatible creatures with no hope of 'burying the hatchet' as you people say.

LOCKE:  
But my grandma told me that humans and espers once lived side by side. Was that just a bedtime story?

RAMUH:  
Regarding this world, your grandmother is correct as human and esper once shared this planet together. Some boners on both sides of the line led to the War of the Magi. One thousand years ago, we fought a mankind that had been infused with magic power stolen from us, much like the Empire's MagiTek Knights. It had been a long drawn out battle, but once our greatest fighter Odin and our queen fell, we knew we had to escape to another realm. We feared that if we had remained here we would have eventually been wiped out and made to go the way of the dodo. Your grandmother is also incorrect as it is still true in our realm.

TERRA:  
Humans are living with espers in the other world?

RAMUH:  
They are humans who had sympathized with us and joined us in our cause. They had been few, far between, and suffered prejudice at the hands of some of us and even suffered death at the hands of their own. Poor bastards. You could also say the opposite was true as well.

CELES:  
There were espers that betrayed their own kind?

TERRA:  
Why would they do that? That seems rather silly.

RAMUH:  
Misguided fools with misguided notions that power hungry humans would spare them. Not all humans are mad, power hungry zealots. This I know. On the same token, some of the more bloodthirsty espers were guilty of goading the humans into battle. Ancient history and irrelevant to the troubles of today, I assure you.

TERRA:  
*wrings her hands*  
That sounds like that jerk in Narshe.

RAMUH:  
'Jerk?'

CELES:  
Some arrogant arsehole chicken took control of Terra and tried using her to kill us. Bahl-ay-gore-mondo or something equally ridiculous.

RAMUH:  
Ah. Valigarmanda. Yes, he is a special case. He not only wanted to see humans extinct, but espers as well. I believe 'homicidal maniac' is how you humans would describe him. Interesting. I had assumed he had perished when Asguard fell.

SABIN:  
Question: if you and Terra were in this other dimension where it's safe, why are the both of you here now?

RAMUH:  
Right. Well, initially the realm was fashioned as a safe haven for us in case the war with the humans got out of hand. When that eventually came to fruition with the fall of the Asguardian kingdom, we and the humans among us relocated, this includes Tina—er, Terra and her mother. For nearly a thousand human years, we stayed there in hopes that the power hungry humans would self-destruct without us as their power sources. Approximately twenty human years ago, I was sent crossing the dimensions to see if it was safe to return. Our hypothesis had been correct. Human technology seemed to have regressed in our absence. Unfortunately, our curiosity led humans, who knew of us and what we possessed, to stumble upon our hidden realm after the door had been opened. Thus began the current hunt for our abilities and powers to create an army of invincible super humans.

LOCKE:  
Let me guess. This group you ran into had been the Empire.

CELES:  
…

RAMUH:  
Correct. As soon as I realized what was happening, I ordered the gate sealed and forced the problematic humans out. But somehow, these humans who had never seen magic or espers before had developed technology that managed to suppress our magic. It was a battle of epic proportions that resulted in several of us being captured to be drained of our powers or, like myself, forever stuck in this dimension and in constant hiding.

TERRA:  
If… If I was there, how did I end up here?

RAMUH:  
*sighs*  
I'm not entirely sure. I just know that when I had returned from my scouting mission, you, your mother, and your father had gone missing. Your father, I assumed had been captured by humans. And judging by the artificiality of Ms. Chere's magical presence, I wouldn't be surprised he's still powering the Empire's technology.

Terra gasps in shock and covers her mouth with a hand.

RAMUH:  
As for yourself and your mother, I prayed and hoped to the gods that the two of you had been spared the same fate. But considering that you had been in Imperial hands as a child…I fear that she no longer walks this mortal coil.

There is a group-wide silence.

TERRA:  
Besides my father, how many others were captured?

RAMUH:  
I'm afraid I don't know. I know of at least three: Ifrit, Shiva, and your father Maduin.

Celes sits up straight in shock.

CELES:  
Did you say Maduin? Valigar-whatever compared me to somebody by that name.

RAMUH:  
*strokes his beard*  
Interesting.

CELES:  
How so?

RAMUH:  
*shrugs*  
Perhaps your magic came at his expense? Although, you do seem to share some common traits with him. Brash, ill-tempered, smart mouth…

Celes stands and slams her palms onto the table.

CELES:  
I am not ill-tempered, old man!

The situation is diffused when Terra stands and places her hands on Celes' shoulder and arm.

TERRA:  
I want to rescue them.

LOCKE:  
Pardon?

TERRA:  
I want to rescue the espers from the Empire. I want to rescue my father.

RAMUH:  
Hmm…

LOCKE:  
You're serious about this? Do you realize that we'd be heading straight into Empire country?

SABIN:  
We can take 'em.

LOCKE:  
I mean, Celes just said that no one's even seen the inside of the MagiTek Factory.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
I can't be the only one against this. …Celes?

CELES:  
I…might be able to get us in.

* * *

 _The Returners are attacked by a flash grenade. (Terra's and Celes' POV)_  
 _Notes: This is a section where I had iniatially started off in Terra's point of view and wanted to immediately switch to Celes' for the upcoming battle. I thought that by having a flash grenade hit them, I could use the confusion to switch without a scene break. It didn't gel very well and, if anything, is pretty jarring._

The group made it to the ground floor with absolutely nothing exciting happening. Well, no, not true. The most excitement that Terra had experienced on the way down had been Celes turning back to flash her a butter melting smile. So, upon reaching the lobby floor, Terra decided to bulldoze her way into a soft side and plant an affectionate kiss on a rosy cheek.

However, Terra had neglected one thing. She had miscalculated the amount of attraction between the two of them. The moment her lips had touched the smooth skin of Celes' cheek, she heard her cry out in alarm.

"Flash grenade!" Celes did what she could to protect her eyes before being blinded by a light so bright that she felt the sun had finally broken free over the skies of Zozo. There hadn't been much she could have done about the deafening bang that followed simultaneously. She just attempted to ignore the high pitched whine of her hearing being there one moment and fucking off the next. Whoever this was attacking them sure as hellfire wasn't a Whozier. These Zozo natives were concerned with two things: sex and chocobo carts with wheels made of gold. What would they want with ragtag group of Returners?

Terra had been the first of the group to recover. Instead of using the lobby door like a normal person, she smashed a sudden adversary through a bay window with an explosion of fire and shattered glass. Sabin had been next by smashing his own self through a different window to engage with a group of playmates.

Celes disengaged her blade as she rushed through the open window Terra had created. She bellowed a war cry that she strangely could only hear through her head and shoulder-smashed herself into a group of five sharp looking fellows. At a glance, they were so sharp that even cheddar would be envious. She swung her blade widely, taking them all out in one fell swoop. Turns out they hadn't been so sharp after all.

* * *

 _Celes and her one-liners. Terra got kidnpped._  
 _Notes: Original chapter opening._

She jammed her monstrous blade into the chest of the nearest adversary on the floor. He choked blood and spasmed before falling still. She immediately pulled it free and swung upwards, striking another that had appeared and completely splitting his chin and face into two. Bloody slavers! They deserved worse than that! She swung again, horizontally this time and severed the head from its body. She spun around to swing again, this time striking the falling head with the flat side of her blade.

The decapitated head flew through the air and exploded on the back of an adversary nearby who had been sneaking up on Locke. He stabbed his opponent in the stomach with his daggers and kicked him away, before signaling his thanks to Celes. She nodded in turn and immediately brought up her blade to block a projectile that caught her attention.

"Do you arsholes have any idea who I am?" she cried as she rushed the nearest slaver, impaling him on her blade like meat on a skewer. She swung him around, sending him flying towards another. This bastard was wily. He leaped over his colleague and continued his rushing attack.

"All I know is yer a pretty face that'll net us a fat bag o' gil," he growled as he swung with his blade.

Celes parried and attempted an attack of her own. "Aw, you think I have a pretty face?" she cooed with sarcasm as thick as her blade was large. The bastard had been too quick on his feet and dodged with a leap back. This didn't matter to Celes. She used the downward momentum of her blade to embed it into the ground and froze her opponent solid in the middle of his rush. "I think you look pretty 'ice' for a man! No response? So cold!" She laughed at her own joke before rushing in the direction that Sabin had stormed off like a herd of steroid addled chocobos.

"Don't quit your day job, Celes!" she heard Locke call out after her.

"Grow a sense of humor, blockhead!" she called back. Despite her joking, Celes was on the verge of seeing red. Vargus, Dadaluma, jerk-face human trafficker, or whatever the bloody hell he called himself, had found them in the high-rises of the City of Sunshine and had taken advantage of Terra's recent vulnerability. In other words, no sooner had the information overloaded girl gone outside to clear her head, he had swooped in and snatched her like Locke in an Imperial weapons storage facility.

Celes, acting purely on autopilot, didn't stop running as she disemboweled an adversary who had made the mistake of leaping at her from an alleyway. She briefly stumbled from the shifting weight of her blade, but regained balance and kept her momentum. Luckily, Terra had managed to warn the others before somehow succumbing to unconsciousness. It had been a piss off seeing that jerk with Terra slung over his shoulder and smirking on the opposite side of the building. Sabin had exchanged a few heated words, but she couldn't remember what they had been. Slavers at that point had crawled out of the stone-works to attack them.

If someone had told her in the morning that she'd be trawling through Zozo, the most dangerous city in the world, in the middle of a rainy night in search of Terra and an asshole, she would have laughed and retorted with a demand of sucking an appendage she didn't possess. Instead, that was exactly what she found herself doing. The city had few lights to speak of and the cloud cover prevented the stars and moon from lighting her way. Lightning occasionally flashed providing some form of light, but in the darkness it was blinding and made things worse.

"Vargas!" Celes halted her movement. That was Sabin's voice! To the left! She ducked around the corner of the building and was rewarded with the sight of Sabin fending off a hoard of scythe wielding slavers.

* * *

 _Chapter Sixteen:_  
 _Blood in the Streets, Memories in the Wind_

 _Terra can fight too._

Celes and Sabin run off towards two different groups of slavers headfirst.

CELES:  
Try not to harm the civilians!

She pole-vaults into the air using her blade, flips, and brings said blade down with a blast of ice magic that sends adversaries flying.

CELES:  
Locke, do what you do best! Terra, Ramuh give us long range support!

A slaver behind her suddenly bursts into flames, courtesy of Terra. She looks surprised before signaling thanks.

TERRA:  
I can't just stand back and use magic! I can fight too!

Ramuh strikes a slaver with a bolt of lightning that sends him flying into a nearby building. He stabs his staff into the ground, causing the sky to open bringing forth a barrage of lightning. Whoever hadn't run away at Terra's earlier display, do so now.

RAMUH:  
We do not have time for this. It must end now!

* * *

 _Celes and her one-liners again._

Celes found herself facing off against a group of several sharp looking fellows. At a glance, they were so sharp that even cheddar would be envious. She swung her blade widely, taking most of them out in one fell swoop. Turns out they hadn't been so sharp after all. She jammed her monstrous blade into the chest of the nearest one on the rain drenched ground, solidifying his chances of a quick death. He choked blood and spasmed before falling still. She immediately pulled it free and swung upwards, striking another that had appeared and completely splitting his chin and face into two. Bloody slavers! They deserved worse than that! She swung again, horizontally this time and severed the head from its body. She spun around to swing again, striking the falling head with the flat side of her blade.

The decapitated head flew through the air and exploded on the back of an adversary who had been sneaking up on the nearby Locke. He stabbed his opponent in the stomach with his daggers and kicked him away, before signaling his thanks to Celes. She nodded in turn and immediately brought up her blade to block a projectile that caught her attention.

"Do you arsholes have any idea who I am?" she cried as she rushed towards whom she thought had been the culprit, impaling him on her blade like meat on a skewer. She swung him around, sending him flying towards another. This bastard was wily. He leaped over his colleague and continued his rushing attack.

"All I know is yer a pretty face wif fat tits that'll net us a fat bag o' gil," he growled as he swung with his blade.

Celes parried and attempted an attack of her own. "Aw, you think I have a pretty face?" she cooed with sarcasm as thick as her blade was large. The bastard had been too quick on his feet and dodged with a leap back. This didn't matter to Celes. She used the downward momentum of her blade to embed it into the ground and froze her opponent solid in the middle of his rush. "I think you look pretty 'ice' for a man! No response? Oh, so cold!" She laughed at her own joke before rushing in the direction that Sabin had stormed off like a herd of steroid addled chocobos.

"Don't quit your day job, Celes!" she heard Locke call out after her.

"Grow a sense of humor, blockhead!" she called back. Despite her joking, Celes was on the verge of seeing red. Vargus, Dadaluma, jerk-face human trafficker, or whatever the bloody hell he called himself, had found them in the high-rises of the City of Sunshine.

* * *

 _Sabin bursts through a glass window._

Sabin was the first of the group to react. He shattered through a glass window as he bellowed the man's name. Vargas.

Immediately, the fight was on. Celes was the next to unfreeze from the surprise. She burst through the other window while unclasping her blade. "Next time use the door, you knob!" she shouted.

* * *

 _Esper!Terra makes an appearance._

CELES, SABIN, and LOCKE take off towards the approaching opposition.

CELES:  
Try not to harm the civilians!

LOCKE dodges underneath a scythe swing and guts his opponent in the stomach.

LOCKE:  
Easier said than done, lady!

CELES blocks an attack with her blade.

CELES:  
I said try, retard!

SABIN picks up his opponent with one hand, tosses him up the air, and sends him flying into a building with a kick.

SABIN:  
Vargas! Enough with the small fry! I want a rematch!

VARGAS:  
*laughs*  
Sabin, dear, if you want to fight so badly, then I'm afraid that you'll have to make your way through my men first!

CELES blindly swings her blade, felling several opponents at once. She stabs one of them in the chest before swinging upwards and striking another in the face, splitting his jaw wide open. Nearby, Terra is tackling the Trappers while being stalked by HOGAN. CELES severs the head from her gurgling opponent, then spins around to smack the falling head with the broadside of her blade. The head sails through the air, past SABIN pummeling some jerk, past LOCKE stealing the bow and quiver of arrows from a deceased opponent, before shattering on the back of HOGAN's head. The Gigas, clearly enraged, turns around and beats his fists on his chest.

HOGAN:  
MEAT!

CELES:  
Oi! Big, stupid, and ugly! I'm over here, you sod!

The lumbering lummox punches the ground with both fists, causing an earthquake that knocks nearly everyone to the ground. The only two not affected are SABIN and VARGAS. SABIN utilizes the opportunity to go after VARGAS.

SABIN:  
You and me, Vargas!

VARGAS:  
If you must. And for the last time, it's Dadaluma.

CELES returns to her feet, brushes hair from her face, and beats a fist on what little flat portion of her chest exists.

CELES:  
Let's go, Skippy! I haven't got all day!

HOGAN:  
MEAT!

The Gigas charges in her direction, taking out several of his own allies with the snapping of bones. CELES dives out of the way at the last moment, causing the lumbering brute to smash into the remains of Ramuh's building, which collapses.

ADVERSARY 1:  
For the glory of the Crimson Robbers!

ADVERSARY 2:  
Taste my blade, you blonde wench!

CELES whirls around to defend herself, only to find two slavers standing there poised to strike with arrows sticking out of their heads. A multitude of explosions nearby drags her attention to TERRA performing acrobatics to avoid the MagiTek lasers of a Trapper. When she rushes off to assist, she is sent careening forward by an explosion of stone and brickwork.

HOGAN:  
MEAT!

Now on the ground, CELES struggles to her hands and knees.

CELES:  
*groans*  
Oh, fuck me.

The Gigas laughs and embeds his fist into the ground next to her with earth shattering results. CELES stares for a moment before rolling to the side, narrowly missing getting pounded into the pavement like a stake with a shovel. Several explosions are heard from elsewhere.

LOCKE:  
Hold on, Celes! I'm coming!

The Gigas looms over her and cocks the first fist back. An angry and flaming, ember-eyed ESPER!TERRA suddenly appears on his back. Just as the Gigas notices and attempts to shake her off—

TERRA:  
Too slow.

-she slices through his meaty shoulder, completely severing the limb. The Gigas roars in pain and bucks TERRA off, who merely just hovers in the air. CELES grabs the severed arm, tosses it in the face of the owner—

CELES:  
Don't beat yourself up over it, Skippy!

-and scrambles to safety. HOGAN roars and charges once again in CELES' direction. She dodges at the last moment, landing conveniently near her blade. HOGAN, meanwhile, smashes into the group of Crimson Robbers that LOCKE had been battling.

HOGAN roars before erupting in an explosive ball of fire. He again, charges in CELES' direction. She once again, dodges to the side, allowing him to, once again, smash into rubble. CELES hits him with an ice spell, freezing him in place. She then runs toward him, impales her blade into the ground, uses her arms to flip in the air, and uses her momentum to embed her blade into his back with ice shattering force. CELES swings her blade around and reenters a battle stance. TERRA hovers nearby, while LOCKE suddenly appears beside them. The remaining Crimson Robbers and civilians have surrounded them. Outside of the circle, Sabin and Vargas still fight.

CELES:  
Citizens of Zozo, stand down.

CITIZEN 1:  
You stand down! Can't you see we need money to rebuild the town that y'all demolished?

LOCKE:  
They attacked us first!

CELES silences LOCKE with a look. TERRA suddenly glows red from a magic circle as wind whips her hair and clothing about.

CELES:  
This is not your fight nor is it one that you will win.

CITIZEN 1:  
You may have taken down a Gigas, but you can't take us all on at once!

CELES:  
I repeat: If you do not stand down, you will get hurt.

CITIZEN 2:  
Cat girls and big boobed bimbos can't hurt all of us! Let's get them!

The glowing and wind suddenly stops. The magic circle disappears.

TERRA:  
Odin! Ich beschwöre dich! Kommt zu Hilfe! {Odin! I implore you! Come to the rescue!}

There is a flash of white. All of the citizens suddenly have single tiny cuts on their cheeks.

CITIZEN 1:  
What? What happened?

CITIZEN 3:  
I'm…bleeding?

TERRA:  
I could have seriously hurt every single one of you. I don't want to do that. Please stand down.

VARGAS suddenly lands in the center of the circle, looking less for wear. The civilians split the circle and take several steps back, allowing SABIN to enter.

SABIN:  
If it's money that you want, then petition to become a commonwealth of Figaro. We've got plenty to help out with and a great healthcare system.

CITIZEN 1:  
What makes you think that Figaro would help us? You're just some muscle bound monk!

LOCKE:  
I wouldn't be so hasty to fight the crown prince of Figaro, man.

CITIZENS:  
GASP. The crown prince! / I always thought princes were sickly!

VARGAS:  
*weakly*  
Sabin, I can't believe the old man taught you that…technique.

SABIN:  
*shakes his head*  
Well, if someone hadn't been in such a rush for power, then they'd have seen that coming.

* * *

 _Celes faceplants into Terra._

HOGAN picks CELES up and holds her in his hand like a bouquet of flowers. CELES, meanwhile, attempts to take swings at him.

CELES:  
Unhand me, you overgrown muscle-head!

LOCKE is battling nearby with multiple slavers.

LOCKE:  
Hold on, Celes! I'll save you!

HOGAN:  
MEAT!

The creature tosses CELES like a football. She careens through the air, lands in the welcoming arms of TERRA, and faceplants in between her breasts. The two of the them tumble to the ground.

TERRA:  
*groans*  
Is this really a good time for that?

The two sit up.

CELES:  
As much as I'd love to, no.

* * *

 _Narshe remains an independant state. (Opening Variation)_

The early morning was cold and quiet in the desert. The sand rays and alacrans were still sleeping in their underground dens to escape the chill as were most of Figaro's citizens. As for the cactuars… Well, the cactuars usually hid anyway so nothing was new there. Edgar and his armored chocobo mount stood atop a sandy dune. Instead of watching the early morning splash color on the sky like warm water on the face, he was fending off the gritty sandpaper-like breeze and scrutinizing the approaching of the Imperial army. Right on time. The Figarian scouts were well trained, courtesy of Locke. Maybe it was time to actually offer a military position to the man. Although, there were doubts that Locke would even take such a position. The thief loved his roaming freedom.

The rumbling of Figaro castle descending to the safety of the sands like the native wildlife was ear shuddering loud and easily could knock a grown man from his feet. Like most of his soldiers, Edgar was unaffected. Thanks to all the testing he had done installing the submersion drives several years ago, everyone who had lived behind the stone walls of the city had grown so accustomed to such vibrations, both air and sand, that they were able to tune it out and keep balance. Like a radio with radio frequencies, they could focus on what was most important. In Edgar's case, it was the approaching of the Imperial army and the unavoidable battle that came with them.

He ordered the men behind him to stand down and rode out to meet the leader of the opposing group. His scouts had dropped the name "Leo," but Edgar was remaining wary until his own eyes confirmed. After the Empire's general switcheroo at the demolishing of Doma, he wasn't going to count his chocobos until they hatched. As for the Imperials, they were in for a treat. Edgar himself was joining the fray today. There was a chance that some lucky bastard could go home to his wife or mother chuffed to the brim that he had taken down Figaro's most beloved monarch. Not that Edgar thought that highly of himself. He did, but he tried not to. That was the difference.

In the dim misty morning light, he could spy movement from within the approaching Imperial faction. A cell split off from the main group and as it grew in size from a shortening of proximity, it split yet again. Edgar grinned at his luck. Before him, also mounted on a fully armored chocobo, arrived General Leo Christophe—the voice of reason in an otherwise chaotic opposition. Yet, despite the high amount of valor and honor, nothing could shatter that man's unwavering loyalty to the Empire and its Emperor. So they said.

Edgar closed the gap and offered a hand in greeting. Being on opposing sides didn't mean they couldn't greet each other with civility. Leo took the offer with the firm grasp of a man serious about handshakes. Edgar was used to such enthusiastic gestures. He was king after all. "General," he said, "it is a pleasure to see you."

"Likewise, your majesty." Leo's voice betrayed no sign of emotion other than respect and perhaps a sliver of contempt. "I just wish that we could be meeting each other under pretenses other than battle against each other."

Edgar nodded in agreement. Fortunately, the subpar, yet convincing charade of perfect Imperial lapdog was no longer necessary. He was a machinist, not an actor. Those theatrics could be saved for the Jidoorian Opera House. "As do I, General, but you know well these things have a tendency to happen this way. 'Tis but a folly of war's theatrics."

"Is there anything I can say to change your mind? Is there anything that can influence you to stop this silliness and rejoin the Empire?"

Edgar recognized this tactic; it was one that Leo was known for. The general would seek all avenues to avoid fighting if possible, and, if that failed, would turn the information gleaned back against his adversaries. Unless the Imperials were going to throw women and steam-powered schematics all over the battlefield, they were out of luck. Edgar had no weaknesses that he was aware of besides his affinity for the feminine form and a love of machines. The tactic was sneaky, but not everything about war was a pleasant experience. Still, Leo was an honorable man and probably the only Imperial besides Celes that he respected. He'd give exactly what was wanted; the truth—to a degree. "I do apologize, General. Alas, there is not."

Leo's face fell farther underground than Figaro Castle. "The Emperor has decreed that you would not be held responsible for this unpleasantness. He would welcome you back with open arms."

"And the people of Figaro have decreed that they no longer wish to remain a puppet state under an overreaching government that lies, cheats, and kills at a whim. Unfortunately, General, as their king I must listen when they speak." No, he did have a weakness. He loved his loyal subjects, every last one of them, even the ones rotting in the castle's jail. And they loved him, even the ones rotting in the castle's jail. At least, he thought anyway. "And as such, I have taken precautions to see that they are not harmed during this scuffle. I will not see a repeat of Maranda or Doma in my kingdom."

Leo nodded. "I understand. Should I survive today's battle, I will inform Emperor Gestahl of your reasoning."

"You will survive today, General," Edgar said. "I do not needlessly kill. However, I should ask you: what is to stop you from joining us? Your values run near parallel with ours. You value all life. You seek to do the right and honorable. You seek to avoid fighting when able. You are a man of honor, something that your Emperor and his lapdog have made clear that they lack completely."

Leo shook his head and rested a hand on the hilt of the blade at his hip, preparing himself for battle. "I'm afraid I can't defy my Emperor, your majesty," he said. "Nor can I turn my back on my country. That would be like asking you to defy the people of Figaro."

"Touché." Edgar flipped his braid over his shoulder and placed the helmet he had been keeping under his arm on its rightful place above his shoulders. A damaged noggin would not do his next invention or his kingdom any good. "I had been hoping to avoid this unpleasantness, but it appears that we have reached an impasse. I am afraid that you and I shall meet as enemies on the battlefield."

Edgar turned his mount to travel back towards his men, but was stopped when Leo called out to him. This was unusual. All the protocols had been followed. They had attempted to talk each down with words and had failed with a civil and stubborn communications breakdown. They had silently agreed to battle. What more could be said? Had Leo changed his mind? Was he willing to join the Returners?

The look on Leo's face this time betrayed his emotions. It was one of fatigue, worry, and possibly regret. "Edgar, how are Celes and Terra? Where are they? Are they well?" Even the tone in his voice broadcasted the emotions that must have been driving the poor man mad at night.

As much as Edgar wanted to assuage Leo's concerns, he wasn't going to let information fly easily. "Who wishes to know?" he demanded. "Would this be Emperor Gestahl enquiring for his own personal gain? Or would this be Kefka seeking to finish the inquisition he started?"

Leo sighed and slumped in his saddle. "Neither," he said. "This is a concerned friend and mentor asking. I always worry about those who had been my cadets, especially the orphans."

Where had he been when Celes' life had nearly been snuffed? Where had he been when Kefka had taken control of Terra? Probably in the dark and lied to. It seemed the Emperor enjoyed keeping his military and citizens in the dark about nearly everything. The Imperial Way, they called it. Edgar considered lying outright and claiming ignorance, but that had been the catalyst that led to Figaro declaring war against the Empire in the first place. Besides, he wasn't Imperial nor did he wish to add to the Imperial Way of lies and misdirection. Should he? Should he not? Perhaps a more diplomatic middle-ground should be approached. He said, "Since it is you asking, my friend, I shall tell you what I can without endangering their lives. I have not seen them in some time nor do I know where they are at present. However, the last time they had passed through my kingdom, they were well. Terra's amnesia was starting to show signs of fading and Celes especially was full of piss and vinegar. She threatened half my male staff (and myself) for looking in her general vicinity."

For the first time during the conversation, Leo smiled. He said, "That certainly sounds like Celes. Thank you."

* * *

 _Esper!Terra summons Odin against the citizens of Zozo._

A cry of "You blonde-haired bitch!" caused Celes to immediately pull her blade free and parry an attack aimed at her front quarter. She let this new jerk attack a few times before pommel striking him in the chest, making his bowels scream in terror with several fancy sword swinging tricks, and ultimately severing his head from his body with a geyser of red.

She spun on her the ball of her foot to gain an addition in force and struck the falling head with the flat side of her blade. "Homerun!" she cried with a pumping of a fist and the twirling of her blade above her head. The severed head arced through the air before striking Vargas' Gigas on the back and shattering into a shower of bone and brain. It was a good thing it struck where it had; the hulking Hogan had been stalking Terra as she tangled with the magi-mechanical Trappers. One of them exploded as Hogan roared and beat his fists on his stonewall of a chest.

"Oi!" Celes called out. "Big, stupid, and ugly! I want my softball back!"

Truthfully, she wanted to stay as far away from severed heads as much as she could. This tactic was purely to lure the gargantuan gargantuate away from Terra as quick as possible. The behemoth grabbed a nearby Trapper by its legs and hurled it in Celes' direction before rushing her as well. Just like when she used to play softball, she swung her blade at the perfect moment, splitting the mechanical mechanoloid into two exploding foul balls. She then threw herself into a slide between Hogan's legs to dodge his bumbling dull-witted attack, which took out several civilians and slavers in one fell swoop.

From her sitting position, she looked back and let loose a shrill whistle to regain his attention. "Oi! I'm back here, wally!" she said. She returned to her feet, flippantly brushed her hair from her face, and thumped a fist on her chest in a show of a dominance challenge. "C'mon, you deadbeat! I haven't got time for a holiday!"

The lumbering lummox beat his fists on a barreled chest and roared his love for fresh meat. He punched both his anvil fists into the ground, causing an earthquake to shake Zozo nearly to its very foundations. The next thing Celes knew, she was on her back and wondering what the hell had happened. All sounds of battling had seemed to fall silent like prayer in a house of worship.

"I'm okay," Terra cutely muttered from somewhere on the battlefield.

At least there had been some good news, because for one to look up and find a large and angry Hill Gigas gloating over them would be enough to ruin anyone's day. This was the exact predicament that Celes was now in. He cocked his solid pork roast of a fist back for a powerful punch.

Celes was vaguely aware of Sabin yelling, "Enough of this, Vargas!"

As well as Vargas's response, "Very well! If you must, sweetie! And for the last time, it's Dadaluma!"

A tree trunk arm embedded itself into the cobblestones just shy of her head. Celes cringed and nervously eyed the meaty appendage before looking up to the lummox himself. He had his other arm poised for another strike and wore the grin of a sadistic child who had just stolen his new favorite toy. "Meat," he rumbled. She wanted to upchuck her breakfast for that was precisely what his breath smelled like.

"Hold on, Celes! I'm coming!" Locke? What could he do against a giant? If she couldn't take the bastard down, then he had no chance.

Well, this was it. Doomed to be pulverized by a meat obsessed giant and his oversized meat tenderizers. At least she could die happy. A longtime fantasy had come true and it had been a wonderful thing, even if a little awkward. Still, she'd never imagined that she'd leave this world flattened like a pancake. And with the size of that fist, she had a feeling that it could even flatten her oversized— "Oh, fuck me," she muttered.

A flash of white and lavender behind the hulking beast figuratively poked Celes in the eye. What the—? "Maybe later," Terra warbled happily before slicing Hogan's tree trunk of an arm off with a flame-engulfed katana. She flashed her snaggletoothed kitty grin as the Gigas screamed, spewing a fountain of red everywhere.

Celes grabbed at the loose appendage, which had landed hard on her chest, and, with a cry of disgust, tossed it into the face of its former owner. Before a reaction could commence, she made an attempt to scramble to safety. She heard the roar from behind her before the thuds of a Gigas charging at her. She was tackled to the ground by a furry Terra, allowing the Gigas to bypass them completely and bulldoze into a group of Crimson Robbers. Locke, who had been battling those gentlemen, relaxed his stance to scratch his head in confusion with a dagger.

Hogan roared in frustration and punched a nearby building with his remaining arm, nearly bringing it down on the civilians fleeing in terror. Celes, wasting no time, returned to her feet with a shrill multi-note whistle and began charging an ice spell in her hands. The Gigas whirled around pretty damn quick for someone of his rather large stature and erupted in a ball of fire, courtesy of Terra. He charged at them.

"Celes…" Locke said nervously. The rain around them began freezing on contact.

"Stand your ground," she ordered. The brute was closer now. She could see the steam of anger bursting out his flared nostrils. Almost there.

"Celes!" Locke pleaded. The freezing rain suddenly turned to hail.

The brute was practically upon them. Celes embedded her blade into the ground and willed the hulking Hogan to a stop with a powerful hadouken of ice magic. She then grabbed her blade, took a running sword-vault into the air, and brought it down on his head. With loud snapping, cracks spread like wildfire on his ice cage before weakening the shell enough to shatter it under its own force. Gravity then took over and claimed his unconscious form.

It was at this point that Celes took notice that she, Terra, and Locke were completely surrounded by civilians and slavers alike. All of them were poised and ready for some good old fashioned mob mentality destruction. Sabin and Vargas could be heard fighting elsewhere, along with the sounds of crumbling stonemasonry. Old man Ramuh was the only one of them who was unaccounted for. Had he gone into hiding because of the Reflect Trappers? It was cold, but this required attention first. Besides, maybe one of the others had seen what had happened to him.

Celes sheathed her blade on its magnet, but stayed her hand on its hilt. "Citizens of Zozo," she ordered, "stand down. We have no quarrel with you."

"You stand down!" one of the men yelled with a shake of his shovel. "Can't you see we need money to rebuild the town that y'all demolished?"

"Um…" Locke leveled a finger with the brutish Gigas collapsed at their feet. "Actually, it was mostly this guy who did that."

"If y'all had surrendered in the first place, this wouldn't of happened!"

From the corner of her eye, she saw a dull red glow radiate from Terra's position. A pebble beaned her on the head before she had been able to take the chance to investigate further. The snot-nosed little boy who had thrown the projectile blew a raspberry at her and hid behind the man who had initially spoken to them. "This is not your fight," she said flatly, "nor is it one you will win. You're no longer protected by the Empire's MagiTek."

"You can't take us all on at once!"

A murmur rushed through the crowd before a haggard looking woman reached out to put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Tidus, she took down a Gigas," she whispered harshly.

Celes narrowed her eyes to glare ice at who seemed to be the only Whozyeran still willing to take them on. "Listen to the smart lady," she stated coldly. "If you do not stand down, we will not hold back."

Coming to the rescue, a second older Whozyeran shook his pitchfork. "Cat girls and big titty bimbos kain't hurt all us at the same time!" he cried. "Let's get 'em! Gang up on 'em!"

Without a warning, Terra leveled one of her katana at this second man's head. "Odin," she pleaded. "Ich beschwöre dich! Kommt zu Hilfe!"

That… That had been the language of the espers. When had Terra learned that?! Magic crackled in the air, causing Celes to experience the strange sensation of her hair rising on its own. The rain fell harder. A cold, black wind whirled down the street, the tall buildings acting as a channeler and enhancing its power. For a moment, it felt as if the wind was trying to pick her up and carry her away. This was followed soon by a flash of lighting and thunder that illuminated the darkened city. Within the flash, Celes had been able to see him for the briefest of moments. It had been the same horse-bound knight she had seen at the ancient castle; Odin.

As soon as the magic had appeared, it disappeared leaving a heaviness in its wake, as well as cuts, scratches, and blood on all of Zozo's citizens. The confused civilians touched their wounds and looked to each other with bewildered expressions. Children began crying. Dogs began barking. Cats began yowling. Celes couldn't tell if they had been harmed as well, but if they hadn't the atmosphere alone would be enough to affect them. "What happened?" said one citizen in a near panic.

"I'm bleeding?!" panicked another.

Locke prodded her in the arm before whispering, "Celes, what the hell did I just witness?" Instead of responding, she turned to watch Terra sheath her weapons and return to normalcy in a flash of rainbow.

"I could have seriously hurt every single one of you," Terra said. She knelt down next to the same little boy who had a thing for throwing rocks and touched his shoulder, bathing him in curative magic. He just stared at her in confusion. "I don't want to kill anyone, but I will if I must. Please stand down."

"If it's money that you want, then petition to become a commonwealth of Figaro." There were murmurs of confusion from the crowd before it split, allowing Sabin to approach the rest of the group. He carried a frown on his face and an inert Vargas in his arms. He continued, "We've got plenty to help out with and a great healthcare system to boot. The best in the world, probably."

That same naysayer scoffed and shook his shovel again. Celes was half tempted to destroy the thing just so that she didn't have to see it waved in the air any longer. "What makes you think that Figaro would help us?" he sneered. "Yer just some stupid cheese-brained muscle-head!"

Sabin stopped walking near the man's location and gave him a side glance that caused everyone else to shirk back in nervousness, leaving this guy as the only one "threatening" them. Celes chuckled and folded her arms across her chest. Obviously, this guy had no idea who Sabin was. Beside her, Locke said, "I wouldn't be so hasty to fight the crown prince of Figaro, man."

There was a collective gasp from the crowd as more of them shirked back away from Sabin and Vargas. Some of them even knelt to their knees in a show of fealty. If Sabin was fazed by such a show of honor, it either didn't register with him, he didn't care, or he didn't show it. But it was good to know that not everyone in Zozo was as stupid as a box of Narshean googly-eyed rocks.

"The crown prince! He's so handsome!" cried a female Whosyeran.

Cooed another, "I always thought a prince would be a sickly, pale shade of a man!"

Vargas stirred in Sabin's arms enough to garner attention. Heavy with weakness he said, "Sabin, I can't believe the old man taught you that technique."

This prompted a bellow of a laugh. "Well, if someone hadn't been such an arrogant prick, then they'd have seen my bum rush coming right for them."

* * *

 _"Hang on to your underpants."_

The group hadn't stayed long in Zozo. In fact, they had high-tailed it out of there faster than a thief caught red-handed. Truthfully, no one had wanted to deal with the strange complaint-filled Whozyerans any longer than necessary. At Locke's suggestion, they left handing over Vargas and his Gigas to the Jidoorian authorities to the citizens of the gloomy looking town.

Locke had gotten the brilliant idea of meeting up with Maria while in Jidoor and seeing if she could pull any favors to get them to Vector. Celes was skeptical that that airhead lookalike could pull anything other than the pants off of a man. Unfortunately for her, she was outnumbered in her views and went along with the group for democracy's sake.

Ramuh had thanked them once again for attempting what he could never bring himself to do. He, then, had announced that he and the man the Whozyerans had chosen to represent them in a bid for Figaro commonwealth status were heading straight to Narshe to meet with Banon and render assistance where needed. Using Warp magic, they had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Celes had to laugh, though. The old man had a sense of humor. Just before casting the spell, he had said to his young travelling companion, "Hang on to your underpants."

* * *

 _Exposition prevents Celes from talking to Cid._

Standing at a desk and scribbling furiously into a notepad was a face she recognized. Professor Cid! He was the one who gave her her magic! He had been the only MagiTek researcher to check up on her at the orphanage and he had been the one to get her placed in the Imperial Academy.

She had attempted to call out to him, but her voice died when she spied something strange strapped to a nearby table. She caught a glimpse of a child with blonde hair before her view was blocked by a familiar sight. She recognized this woman that had materialized from thin air. It was the version of herself that mimicked Terra's esper form.

"You don't belong here," the cat-girl said.

"No shit," Celes countered. She folded her arms across her chest in irritation. "You going to tell me who you are this time?"

"You need to leave."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I've worked too hard to shield you from this. Please, just leave."

"Is that…me on the table? Is this the MagiTek research facility?"

"Don't make me make you wake up with a scream and cold sweats."

* * *

 _Terra discovers why it's chilly out._

CELES wakes up in her tent with a start. She sits up, and after realizing that she is alone, exits. The campsite is empty. A smoldering ruin is all that is left of the fire. It is here that she realizes that she's not wearing clothing of any kind. Before she goes back to her tent, she finds a naked TERRA sitting on an outcropping a decent way away and watching the moon rising over the ocean. TERRA smiles at her approach and pats the rock she's sitting on.

TERRA:  
I'm glad you're here. I was feeling lonely.

CELES sits down and places a hand on TERRA's thigh.

CELES:  
You could have woken me, you know.

TERRA:  
But you looked so peaceful.

CELES:  
My dreams were anything but.

TERRA:  
You want to talk about it?

CELES:  
Nightmares are nothing new to me, especially ones I don't remember. What about you?

TERRA:  
I just wanted to watch the moonrise.

CELES:  
While naked?

TERRA looks down at herself and genuinely looks surprised.

TERRA:  
Oh. So that's why it's chilly out.

CELES laughs.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapters Seventeen and Eighteen_**

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Chapter Seventeen:_  
 _Hey Miss General Lady, Sing a Song for Me_  
1) Original Intro to the Opera (Script)  
2) Celes Speaks with Maria:  
_ _A) First Intro Version (Mostly Script)  
_ _B) Second Intro Version (Partial Script)  
3) Darkness and a Locked Door (Abandoned Intro)  
4) Celes Loses Her Temper  
5) North Figaro  
6) Terra Bounces like a Rubber Ball  
7) Lead Up to the Opera:  
_ _A) "People were stupid and would believe anything as long as it was entertaining."  
_ _B) Terra's Sad and Lonely (Cut Exposition)  
_ _C) Terra Meditates with Sabin (Cut Exposition)  
_ _D) Terra's Visit to the Dressing Room (Draft)

 _Chapter Eighteen:_  
 _Octopus' Garden 2: It's Just My Imagination Running Away with Me_  
1) The Dream Oath: Draco and Maria:  
_ _A) Lyrics Script  
_ _B) FFIV Easy Type Version  
2) Ultros Battle (Script Version)  
3) FFVIII's Squall Makes an Appearance with FFIX's Zidane  
4) "Very polite for a scoundrel."  
5) The Ao3 Difference (Final Version)

* * *

 _Chapter Seventeen:_  
 _Hey Miss General Lady, Sing a Song for Me_

 _Original Intro to the Opera (Script)_

Scene: Opera House  
Locke, Sabin, Terra, and Celes enter the fancy building, where they find the Impresario pacing in a tizzy. He catches a glimpse of Celes from the corner of his eye and bolts over to her.

IMPRESARIO:  
Maria! You're okay!

CELES:  
Well, this is awkward.

LOCKE:  
Actually, we've been sent by Maria so that Celes here can take her place.

IMPRESARIO:  
Take her place?! Heavens no! You'll ruin the performance! Opening night will be ruined!

CELES:  
Better to bomb the opening night than lose your star performer.

Silence.

IMPRESARIO:  
I do have to admit: you could pass for Maria in a heartbeat.

TERRA:  
She can even sing like her, too!

IMPRESARIO:  
*sighs*  
This is simply horrible! I want the performance to be a success, but if something happens to Maria…

LOCKE:  
Maria said that you know this Setzer guy. Any idea when he'd make an attempt to crash the party?

IMPRESARIO:  
He'll probably show up right at the climax of the first act. He loves to make an entrance. *groans*

LOCKE:  
Even better! We'll let him nab her then! That's when we'll follow him back to his airship and commandeer it for ourselves!

SABIN:  
And if he doesn't go down without a fight?

LOCKE:  
I'm sure the four of us can take down a single guy.

IMPRESARIO:  
Let him take Maria?! Are you people mad?! If anything should happen-

LOCKE:  
Did you not hear my opening statement, man?! Maria sent us so that Celes here can take her place while she hides from Setzer.

IMPRESARIO:  
Come again?

CELES:  
*rolls eyes*  
Oh, for fuck's sake. This isn't MagiTek science.

LOCKE:  
You said yourself that Celes looks like Maria right? She also sings like her. She will be Maria's double.

IMPRESARIO:  
So Maria…

LOCKE:  
Will be nowhere near here.

IMPRESARIO:  
That's- That's brilliant!

LOCKE:  
*nonchalantly*  
Yeah… I have my moments.

The IMPRESARIO grabs CELES by the hand and drags her towards the end of the hallway.

IMPRESARIO:  
Come, Maria! We must get you fitted for your dress!

CELES:  
Hey, now! Wait a second! Wearing a dress was not part of the deal! I'm a general, not a god damned opera floozy!

LOCKE and SABIN laugh.

TERRA:  
Celes? In a dress? I like the idea of that.

LOCKE:  
Lady, it'll blow your mind.

* * *

 _Celes Speaks with Maria (First Intro Version Mostly Script)_

Celes stared out the window into the rain drenched night. Jidoor was one of the few places in the world she wanted to return to, but considering a surprise storm had come from nowhere like an unexpected plot device they hadn't much of a choice. Still, she had to admit that Jidoor at night looked pretty between the raindrops. It wasn't Terra pretty, but… That was an unfair comparison; she was biased. Jidoor at night didn't make her utter the names of gods she didn't believe in under her breath.

She sighed and rested her forehead on the cool glass window. Despite the oncoming storm, she had suggested going straight back to Figaro and speaking to Edgar about their trip to Vector. Locke, possibly thinking with his dick more so than his brain, had sidelined them into returning to Jidoor and speaking with Maria. Of course, it hadn't helped that Terra and Sabin had sided against her and her concerns. Sabin hadn't been surprising. Maria flaunted her body in ways that turned the men into drooling retards and made Celes uncomfortable with her own. Terra on the other hand… That girl had only one thing on her mind and that was the food located in the diva's pantry.

Celes also had to admit: She was glad she was spending the evening out of the rain. She just wasn't going to admit that to anyone as of yet.

As far as Celes was concerned, Maria was only good for warm food, a cold bottle of booze, and a place to stay in a city that looked down on adventurers. And holy hellfire, did that woman love her alcohol and, man oh man, was that supply never ending. But she couldn't bring herself to drink tonight despite the drinking atmosphere. The bottle sat nearby, open and growing warmer with every untouched moment.

Growing up, Celes had listened to The Dream Oath records enough that she knew most of the words by heart. She had idolized Maria for her voice and acting ability. It was from those records that she had learned to sing, but in meeting the songstress her respect had become crushed. She had expected some form of femininity, not the bubbling crackpot of female hormones that she had found. The fact that they looked like a polar opposite identical mother/daughter pair did not help either. If anything, she mused that more likely was what fueled her dismissiveness. Although, she had to admit, Maria wasn't a bad person. She just did things that Celes didn't agree with, such as dressing and acting like a promiscuous whore. Not to mention that atrocious Kohlingen accent. Good gods, no wonder Locke went out of his way to hide his.

"All this broodin' y'all're doin' is gonna make ya more wrinkly than a lonely shirt forgotten under the bed!"

Celes, nearly startled out of her knickers, clutched at her chest to keep her heart from failing. Maria somehow had managed to sneak into the room without her noticing. Baldur's Gate, had she been that self-absorbed that she had missed that? "Where the bloody hell did you come from?" she exclaimed with the screeching of panic. This sent Maria into a fit of laughter. It was so much like her own that she couldn't help feel creeped out by it.

"Well, darlin'," Maria said, "like most folk these days, Ah came in on my own two legs through that door on over yonder."

Celes tried to think up some kind of witty response, but none came. This left her with the weak response of "Yeah. I guess that makes sense."

MARIA:

Sugar, why the hoo-ha y'all alone in the dark?

CELES:  
Sometimes I feel like being alone. It helps me to think.

MARIA:  
Lemme guess, sugar. Y'all ain't a big fan of Jidoor.

CELES:  
I… Actually, yeah. That's pretty spot on.

MARIA:  
An' considerin' that y'all go to great lengths to avoid me, Ah get the impression that y'all ain't a big fan of mine.

CELES:  
I… I wouldn't say that. The Dream Oath is my favorite record. I just…

MARIA:  
It ain't because of Mr. Cole, ain't it?

CELES:  
What? No. Look, I just… I'm just a little creeped out by you because of how you look.

MARIA:  
What the hoo-ha is that supposed ta mean?

CELES:  
You, uh, do realize how much we look alike, right? Being around you is like being around me if I were more…womanly.

MARIA:  
*smugly smirks*  
Ah'm assumin' that y'all're talkin' about how Ah dress and act. Ah can assure you, sugar, that Ah don't do it out of no love. No siree. In fact, Ah believe that you and Ah may be more alike than y'all think. Ah have to dress and act this way to be taken seriously round these parts. And Ah have to do somethin' to keep those bastard Jidoorian menfolk and their wallets comin' to the opera house. Otherwise, Ah'll just be right back where Ah came from. And Ah sure as hell don't want to go back to Zozo or Kohlingen, if y'all catch my drift.

CELES deflates. MARIA hugs her.

MARIA:  
Ah envy you, darlin'. Y'all were given an option in life that Ah never had; to be yourself. If'n it been up to me, Ah'd of joined the watch and bagged myself a couple of beautiful girls.

CELES:  
Wait. You're...?

MARIA winks.

MARIA:  
Ah'm more in the middle ground, sugar, but close enough. And before y'all ask, such shenanigans hadn't been as accepted when Ah'd been your age. But comin' out now would ruin my career, y'know?

CELES:  
I had no idea. I'm sorry.

MARIA:  
*laughs*  
Ah feel honored, darlin'. Mr. Cole did mention that y'all never apologize for nothin'. An' speakin' of looks, Ah think Ah might have a way into Vector for y'all.

CELES:  
Really? How?

MARIA:  
Before Ah get into details, Ah do have a question for ya, darlin'. Ah heard tell that y'all're from Vector? An Imperial General?

CELES:  
Yes to the first. No longer to the second.

MARIA:  
Do y'all happen to know my father?

Silence.

CELES:  
Vector is a bloody big place. I need more than that. What was his name? Was he a lower plate civilian? An upper plater? Was he member of the military?

MARIA:  
*overwhelmed*  
Ah don't know. All Ah know is that he lived in Vector. My momma died when Ah was a youngun' and my grandparents just refused to speak of 'im.

CELES:  
I'm sorry. I can't help you.

MARIA:  
It's alright, darlin'. Here.

MARIA produces a note.

NOTE:  
Dearest Maria, the time for me to settle down has come. Like a flame to a moth, your beauty has captivated me from afar. It haunts me in my dreams. It makes my heart aflutter in waking hours. I will have you for my own. At the climax, I will be coming to sweep you away. Until then, dream of me. – Setzer Gabbiani

CELES:  
What the bloody hell is this and how does this get us into Vector?

MARIA:  
Y'all don't know the world's most notorious gambler?

CELES:  
Uh, no. Should I?

MARIA:  
Y'all should get familiar, darlin'. He owns the world's only airship.

CELES:  
*raises an eyebrow*  
Really…? Well, this changes everything.

* * *

 _Celes Speaks with Maria (Second Intro Version)_

Celes stared out the window into the rain drenched night. Jidoor was one of the few places in the world she wanted to return to, but considering a surprise storm had come from nowhere like an unexpected plot device she hadn't much of a choice. Still, she had to admit that Jidoor at night looked pretty between the raindrops. It wasn't Terra pretty, but… That was an unfair comparison; she was biased. Jidoor at night didn't make her utter the names of gods she didn't believe in under her breath.

She sighed and rested her forehead on the cool glass window. Despite the oncoming storm, she had pressed the group into going straight back to Figaro and speaking to Edgar about their trip to Vector. Locke, possibly thinking with his dick more so than his brain, had sidelined them into returning to Jidoor for a sight of Maria. Of course, it hadn't helped that Terra and Sabin had sided against her and her concerns. Sabin hadn't been surprising. Maria flaunted her body in ways that turned the men into drooling retards and made Celes uncomfortable with her own. Terra on the other hand… That girl had had only one thing on her mind and that had been the food located in the diva's pantry.

Celes also had to admit: She was glad she was spending the evening out of the rain. She just wasn't going to admit that to anyone as of yet.

As far as Celes was concerned, Maria was only good for warm food, a cold bottle of booze, and a place to stay in a city that looked down on adventurers. And holy hellfire, did that woman love her alcohol and, man oh man, was that supply never ending. But she couldn't bring herself to drink tonight despite the drinking atmosphere. The bottle sat nearby, open and growing warmer with every untouched moment.

Growing up, Celes had listened to The Dream Oath records enough that she knew most of the words by heart. She had idolized Maria for her voice and acting ability. It was from those records that she had learned to sing, but in meeting the songstress her respect had become crushed. She had been expecting some form of femininity, but not the bubbling crackpot of female hormones that she had found. The fact that they looked like a polar opposite identical mother/daughter pair did not help either. If anything, she mused that likely was what fueled her dismissiveness. Although, she had to admit, Maria wasn't a bad person. She just did things that Celes didn't agree with, such as dressing and acting like a promiscuous whore. Not to mention that atrocious Kohlingen accent. Good gods, it was no wonder Locke went out of his way to hide his.

"All this broodin' y'all're doin' is gonna make ya more wrinkly than a lonely shirt forgotten under the bed!"

Celes, nearly startled out of her knickers, clutched at her chest to keep her heart from failing. Maria somehow had managed to sneak into the room without her noticing. Baldur's Gate, had she been that self-absorbed that she had missed that? "Where the bloody hell did you come from?" she exclaimed with the screeching of panic. This sent Maria into a fit of laughter. It was so much like her own that she couldn't help feel creeped out by it.

"Well, darlin'," Maria said, "like most folk these days, Ah came in on my own two legs through that door on over yonder."

Celes tried to think up some kind of witty response, but none came. This left her with the weak response of "Yeah. I guess that makes sense."

"Sugar, why the hoo-ha y'all alone in the dark?"

Celes shrugged with an air of indifference. "Sometimes I feel like being alone," she said. "It helps me to think."

Maria giggled once more. She then said, "Lemme guess. Y'all ain't a big fan of Jidoor."

In all fairness, that observation was pretty spot on. She wasn't. Celes wondered if she were more transparent than she thought or if Maria was more astute than she showed.

Maria continued, "An' considerin' that y'all go to great lengths to avoid me, Ah get the impression that y'all ain't a big fan of mine."

No, Maria was more astute than she let on. This made her even more untrustworthy. "I… I wouldn't say that," Celes faltered out. "The Dream Oath is my favorite record. I just…" …think that you're a damn whore. She couldn't bring herself to finish the statement or to tack on the belief that this would lead others to believe that she was a whore as well.

One of Maria's hands lightly found its way to Celes' shoulder with a quiet chuckle. "It ain't because of Mr. Cole, ain't it?"

Celes was quick to shrug that touch off. She couldn't help but to raise her eyebrows with question. What the hell did Locke have to do with anything? "Look, I just…" She tried to find something in the rain drenched city outside to help her form words, but could find nothing. "I'm just a little creeped out by you because of how you look."

If Celes had ever questioned what a taut surprised expression looked like on her face, she now knew thanks to Maria. "What the hoo-ha is that supposed ta mean?" She also now knew what she sounded like to others when her voice went shrill. It was kind of humorous, actually.

"You do realize how much we look alike, right? Being around you is like being around me if I were more…my gender."

A smug expression flooded across Maria's face as she swiped a blonde curl from her face. "Ah'm assumin' that y'all're talkin' about how Ah dress and act," she declared. "Ah can assure you, sugar, that Ah don't do it out of no love. No siree. In fact, Ah believe that you and Ah may be more alike than y'all think. Ah have to dress and act this way to be taken seriously round these parts. And Ah have to do somethin' to keep those bastard Jidoorian menfolk and their wallets comin' to the opera house. Otherwise, Ah'll just be right back where Ah came from. And Ah sure as spit don't want to go back to Zozo or Kohlingen, if y'all catch my drift."

Celes didn't know how to respond and turned to look out the window with embarrassment. She had never considered that Maria's promiscuousness was an act to keep her relevant. Could it be then that she had been wrong with the belief that the songstress had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth? Actually, what else in her beliefs had she been wrong about?

She turned back when she felt a touch on her shoulder. Maria embraced her with a warm hug, a smile genuine, and a twinkle in her eye. "Ah envy you, darlin'. Y'all were given an option in life that Ah never had; the option to be yourself. If'n it been up to me, Ah'd of joined the watch and bagged myself a couple of beautiful girls."

"Wait. You're...?"

Celes was dumbfounded when she suddenly felt her back pressed against the cold glass window. Maria was still embracing her; their faces a mere hair's width from each other. What the fresh hell was this? Was…Maria going to kiss her? Where the bloody hell had this come from? Was she after something else? Oh, good gods, what if Locke or Sabin saw this? She'd never hear the end of it. More frighteningly, what if Terra happened to come across this? The room would be nothing but charred, smoldering remains.

There was only one way out of this. Celes quickly ran the plan out in her mind's projector. She'd hit Maria with an ice spell to stun her, then knock her to the floor. She'd run out the room at top speed, slide down the stairs' bannister, sling Terra over her shoulder, and find some other place to stay the night. Then men were on their own.

Reality returned when Maria laughed again and planted a quick kiss on Celes' cheek. The embrace was broken and physical boundaries were once again observed and respected. "Oh, mah stars! Ms. Chere, the look on your pretty little face is just simply adorable!"

Celes tried to will her reddening cheeks back to cold despite knowing that such a thing was impossible at this point. She was too embarrassed. She folded her arms across her chest for protection and opted to say nothing further entertaining to the songstress. She wasn't pretty nor was she adorable. She just was.

"To answer y'all's question, Ah'm more in the middle ground, sugar, but Ah'm close enough that y'all can just call me one. And before y'all ask, such shenanigans hadn't been as accepted when Ah'd been your age. But comin' out now would ruin my career, y'know?"

So that was it. Celes could now say that she knew of more of her kind besides herself and Terra. Edgar's contact no longer counted. She suspected that woman had been put up to it by him for his own amusement despite what he had said to the contrary. Still, Maria hadn't done anything out of malice and simply did what she had to to survive. Celes mumbled an apology into her chest. It was deserved, but one she didn't really want to give it.

Maria laughed again and roughly clapped a hand on Celes' bare shoulder. The sting caused a grimace and could be felt all the way down into her thighs. "Ah feel honored, darlin'!" Maria said. "Mr. Cole did mention that y'all never apologize for nothin'! An' speakin' of looks, Ah think Ah might have a way into Vector for y'all."

Really? Her? Now things were getting interesting. If Maria could get them safely into Vector, Celes would eat her shorts. That is, if she wore any.

"Before Ah get into details," Maria continued, "Ah do have a question for ya, darlin'. Ah heard tell that y'all're from Vector? An Imperial General?"

This was, Celes assumed, common knowledge. Why the questions? "Yes to the first. No longer to the second."

"Do y'all happen to know my father?"

Celes' ears throbbed from the silence.

CELES:  
Vector is a bloody big place. I need more than that. What was his name? Was he a lower plate civilian? An upper plater? Was he member of the military?

MARIA:  
*overwhelmed*  
Ah don't know. All Ah know is that he lived in Vector. My momma died when Ah was a youngun' and my grandparents just refused to speak of 'im.

CELES:  
I'm sorry. I can't help you.

MARIA:  
It's alright, darlin'. Here.

MARIA produces a note.

NOTE:  
Dearest Maria, the time for me to settle down has come. Like a flame to a moth, your beauty has captivated me from afar. It haunts me in my dreams. It makes my heart aflutter in waking hours. I will have you for my own. At the climax, I will be coming to sweep you away. Until then, dream of me. – Setzer Gabbiani

CELES:  
What the bloody hell is this and how does this get us into Vector?

MARIA:  
Y'all don't know the world's most notorious gambler?

CELES:  
Uh, no. Should I?

MARIA:  
Y'all should get familiar, darlin'. He owns the world's only airship.

CELES:  
*raises an eyebrow*  
Really…? Well, this changes everything.

* * *

 _Darkness and a Locked Door (Abandoned Intro)_

When Locke had said, "Let's go back to Jidoor. One of those aristocrats is bound to know of a way to Vector," Celes had had reservations about the idea. The only contact they personally had was Maria. Sure, the songstress probably had dozens of contacts, but there was doubt that any of them were the type that owned a ship. They were more likely to own a theatre or an actor's studio.

Upon reaching Casa de Scherwiz, they were greeted by darkness and a locked door.

* * *

 _Celes Loses Her Temper_

"You'll have to pretend to be Maria so that you're the one that ends up on the airship. Then you can commandeer it and get the rest of us on board."

Celes buried her face in a palm, surprisingly quiet despite the tension in her body language. Terra shirked back as much as she could in anticipation of what was to come. The throbbing veins on Celes' forehead were a good indication as well as the clenching and unclenching of her other hand.

"So, this means I have to wear a dress, act 'womanly,' and fake that god awful Kohlingen accent," Celes said, abnormally calm and even. It hadn't been a question. That made things scary.

Locke nodded, albeit slowly.

"And I have to sing in front of not just you arseholes, but all of these other arseholes."

Again, Locke nodded.

"And then I have to single-handedly take control of an airship, unarmed and in a huge-arsed, battle unworthy dress."

Terra shivered as the temperature at the table dropped. She attempted to rub Celes' arm, but immediately pulled back from the immense chill. Frost began appearing on the table where Celes was touching it. If the other woman was holding her rage back, it was nearing the point of slipping free.

"Look, Celes," Locke adopted a soothing tone in an attempt to calm her, "I know those are all things that you don't particularly care for, but it's either this or we take the risk in traveling for weeks back to Figaro only to find out that Edgar has no idea how to get us there. And you did say that you'd do anything to get on that airship."

Before Terra was even aware of what had happened, Celes' chair was overturned, drinks were spilled, and Locke's ice covered collar was in Celes' hand. All it had taken was a split-second, a single split-second, and the entire atmosphere of the tavern had completely changed. With a squeal, Terra was on her feet and holding back Celes' free arm to prevent any punches from being thrown. Sabin was also on his feet attempting to separate the two. Locke, meanwhile, looked as if he had trousers filled with bricks.

"Celes, let him go!" Terra said.

It was a long moment before Celes even seemed to register that she had been spoken to. Never before had Terra ever truly felt fear in her presence, but there was a first time for everything. When Celes turned to look at her, it was if she were standing behind a shade. She looked like Celes, but her features had darkened so much that she might as well have been an entirely different person.

Celes scoffed and, with the cracking of ice, released her hold on Locke. He gasped for air when he landed on the table. "Thief," she spat with a low growl, "let's make one thing abundantly clear: I don't like people making plans involving me without asking me first."

* * *

 _North Figaro_

Edgar sat on the edge of the cliff and studied the cold mountains of Narshe. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that this and the surrounding lands would be incorporated into the Figaro legacy. Several members of the Royal Figaro army had joked that he should rename the area "North Figaro", but he didn't feel that was appropriate. Narshe was a town with a rich history of, well, rocks, but despite its annexing into the Figaro Kingdom it still was its own entity. Something that the Gestahlian Empire failed to understand.

As a monarch, Edgar was big on the various cities in his kingdom being different.

* * *

 _Terra Bounces Like a Rubber Ball_

The following morning, Terra found herself squealing in delight at the sight of the Jidoorian Opera House and its overly large, intricately carved pillars. As they approached, she latched onto Celes and bounced like a rubber ball. "Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!" she verbally dumped to the world around her. "Baldur's gate, it's so beautiful!"

* * *

 _"People were stupid and would believe anything as long as it was entertaining."_

She was going to be taking the lead role in one of the world's most prestigious operas. She was going to be pretending to be the lead actress who had been playing that part for the last fifteen years. That actress was going to be in the wings watching and waiting for her cue to step in and take over; i.e. she'd be waiting for The Wandering Gambler to kidnap a Maria and then step in like nothing had happened. The whole concept was to fool the audience into thinking it was all part of the show.

Sneaky, considering there was no such scene in the opera. But, as Locke had said, people were stupid and would believe anything as long as it was entertaining.

* * *

 _Terra's Sad and Lonely (Cut Exposition)_

The past few days had been rather drab and boring. Celes had been busy getting fitted for dresses, tested with makeup, and other various things regarding her new role in the opera. Terra had wanted to spend every moment with her and watch the transformation from military officer on the run to high class socialite.

Unfortunately, on the first day, she had been run out by the Impresario for "being in the way". She had tried a multitude of hiding places, dark corners, rafters, wardrobes. She had been caught every time, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her. She had needed to see what was happening! Sadly, spending time with Celes had been thrown out, even at night. There had been just so much to get ready for in such a short period of time.

She had ended up wandering the streets of Jidoor sad and alone.

On the second day, she again had attempted to watch Celes' transformation. Again she had been run out. Afterward, she had run into Locke, but Maria had been close by, as he had claimed, "for her protection". There had been no entertainment to be found there. Three's a crowd, as they say.

She had ended up rereading Frigg Asgard's journal front to back ten more times that day. This had proved beneficial. She had learned how to heal wounds at a distance.

On the final day, the morning of opening night, she had managed to catch Celes rising from bed.

* * *

 _Terra Meditates with Sabin (Cut Exposition)_

She had initially tried joining Sabin in meditating in the grassy fields behind the opera house. "Meditating is a natural method of relaxing," he had said to her. "Something you definitely need." She had been tense, but considering that she had been forcefully separated from her shadow that was to be expected. "Just clear your mind and relax."

* * *

 _Terra's Visit to the Dressing Room (Draft)_

In the mirror, there was a flash of green behind her towards the door. It seemed that someone had decided on a quick visit before show time. This was good. Celes needed the distraction to calm her nerves and she could think of no better one. "You can come closer, sweetheart. I'm not going to bite you."

Under normal circumstances, that would be all Terra needed to quickly close any distance and latch on like a vice grip. Hell, most of the time, Terra did it regardless of permission. The distance had been shortened, but her partner surprisingly kept her hands to herself. She was as red as the roses on the nearby dressing table (a gift from Maria) and acting more shy than a child with a crush on the babysitter.

Celes chuckled softly and cupped one of Terra's cheeks. She was incredibly warm to the touch and just as incredibly eager to lean into said touch. "What's the matter?" she said. "Between the two of us, I should be the one not talking."

Green eyes briefly made contact with hers before going back to the floor. Finally, Terra whispered, "You look beautiful."

Celes snorted. "I'm far from it. Pretty, maybe. Adorable is stretching it. Certainly not beautiful." She shivered when Terra embraced her and planted a kiss on her neck.

"Stop being so modest," Terra said as she batted at the ribbons dangling in Celes' hair. "You're beautiful and these ribbons suit you." Eye contact was made and consequently held.

"They'd suit you better."

"You know what'd actually suit me better?"

Terra leaned closer until their noses were touching. Her half-closed eyes and shallow breathing caused Celes to follow suit. She knew what was coming and it still excited her every time. She played dumb. "What's that?"

"You."

They kissed and soon broke for air. Those errant feelings were still there, immune to the medicine that Terra usually was. Celes, seeking comfort, rested her head on a bare shoulder. "I don't want to do this," she said.

The world went slightly darker when Terra nuzzled her. "Why?"

Celes buried herself even deeper into the embrace. "I can't do it," she mumbled. Rarely did she ever feel fear, but now that she was in the safety of Terra's arms, the knowledge that she was going to be on that stage in less than ten minutes was frightening. She started shivering, despite feeling overheated from all the layers of clothing. "I can't do it!" she said with more clarity and force. She felt lips touch her forehead as she tried to recall how to prevent panic.

"You can do it, Celes," Terra whispered in her ear. "I have faith in you."

"No, I can't! I'm going to forget the bloody words and my voice is going to crack…"

Suddenly, Celes found her head being held up by a firm grip on her chin and a set of green eyes steadily staring at her, willing her to cease her panic. "You've sang in front of Sabin and Locke for me." They kissed once more. "You can do it again tonight. Forget about Maria, the airship, Vector, the rest of the audience. Sing your heart out and pretend I'm the only one listening."

* * *

 _Chapter Eighteen:_  
 _Octopus' Garden 2: It's Just My Imagination Running Away with Me_

 _Lyrics Script_

Scene opens to a battle between DRACO and soldiers of the East.

NARRATOR:  
*spoken*  
The war between the East and the West  
Was growing more violent by the day...  
Draco, a soldier from the West,  
Thinks of his love, Maria,  
Is she safe? Is she waiting for him?

DRACO loses the battle. The soldiers leave, thinking he is dead.

DRACO:  
O Maria!  
O Maria!  
My beloved, it's now clear,  
Broken through the pain and the fear,  
How much I long  
To be with you.

MARIA's Scene

NARRATOR:  
*spoken*  
The Western armies were defeated,  
And Maria's castle fell into the hands of the East.  
Forced to wed the Eastern Prince Ralse,  
Maria still thinks only of Draco  
As she gazes at the stars each night...

MARIA:  
O my hero, so far away,  
Will I never see your smile?  
Though love fades away, like night into day,  
It's not a forgotten dream.

I'm the darkness, you're the starlight  
Shining brightly from afar.  
Through hours of despair, I offer this prayer  
To you, my evening star.

I'll always think of the times we shared  
When autumn changed the leaves of spring.  
But what shall I do? I'm lost without you.  
O please, guide me through the din.

MARIA dances with DRACO.

DRACO:  
*spoken*  
Come, Maria! Dance with me...  
Ha-ha-ha...!

She walks up another staircase when he disappears. She looks out over the horizon.

MARIA:  
Though we must part, my life goes on  
But my heart won't let you go.  
I'll recall your eyes, so gentle and kind,  
The place my fears can't call home.

She throws flowers over the edge.

MARIA:  
Light as a feather, you touched my heart,  
Leaving me forever yours.  
Our love, come what may, will ne'er age a day.  
I'll wait for you, evermore.

CHANCELLOR appears.

CHANCELLOR:  
*spoken*  
Prince Ralse is looking for a dance partner. Please come inside, and leave the remnants of the past behind. Our kingdom is aligned with that of the East now. We must learn to adopt their ways.

Dance scene. After some time, MESSENGER appears.

MESSENGER:  
*spoken*  
The survivors from the West attack!

RALSE:  
*spoken*  
Impossible!

SOLDIERS:  
*spoken*  
Attack!

As they attack, DRACO appears.

DRACO:  
*spoken*  
Wait!  
*sings*  
Maria!

MARIA:  
O Draco!  
I knew in my heart that you were alive!

RALSE:  
Insolent rogue!  
Knave of the Western Horde!  
You would address my queen to be, Maria?

DRACO:  
Ne'er shall you have her hand!  
I would die before that day comes!

RALSE:  
Then it's a duel!

* * *

 _FFIV Easy Type Version_

The war between the West and the East grew more violent as the days measured on. Draco, the greatest soldier of the West, was tasked with fighting insurgents from the East. A shortage of soldiers forced her to be sent alone, with not a comrade-in-arms to aid her. As she traveled, her thoughts were of her love, Maria. Was she safe? Was she thinking of her? Was she waiting for her?

Over many weeks, her travels took her through the damp Watery Pass, passed the isolated town of Kaipo, beyond the mountainous Village of the Mist, and her final destination in the East, the power hungry Baron. It was on the outskirts there that she was confronted and outnumbered by Eastern insurgents. She fought them with Valiance and Honor, as was the Western Way, but it hadn't been enough.

Overwhelmed by numbers, she lost the battle. Believing her to be dead, the Eastern enemy left her to die in the harshness of the desert. As she lay losing her lifeblood to the sand, abandoned by her nation and enemy alike, all she could think of was her love; her sweet beautiful Maria.

"O Maria!" she sang,  
"O Maria!  
My beloved, it's now clear,  
Broken through the pain and the fear,  
How much I long  
To be with you."

That journey had been the last any on either side had heard of Draco. News of her falling traveled quickly throughout the lands like a wildfire, disenchanting the Western armies who loved her so and aiding the rise of the Eastern armies. When Maria's castle fell into the hands of the East, she was forced into marriage with the Eastern Prince Ralse. Though courteous to her new husband, she could only think of Draco and what had befallen her. Every night, she'd steal herself away to gaze at the stars, hoping to find her beloved looking down upon her from the heavens.

This night was no different from any other as she set foot on the cold cobblestones of this familiar balcony. She shivered from the chilly desert air, as she did every night. She looked to the celestial bodies of the sky, as she did every night, and, through song, prayed for her Draco's return.

"O my hero, so far away,  
Will I ever see your smile?  
Though love fades away, like night into day,  
That pain shall never beguile.

"I'm the darkness, you're the starlight  
Shining brightly from afar.  
Through hours of despair, I offer this prayer  
To you, my evening star.

"I'll always think of the times we shared  
When fall changed the leaves of spring.  
But what shall I do? I'm lost without you.  
O please, guide me through the sting."

Unlike other nights, this night was different. Laughter softly erupted from the shadows, alerting her to a presence; one that was all too familiar. Could it be true? Had her prayers been answered? Was that Draco? Or was her imagination simply running away with itself?

"Come, Maria!" whispered Draco as she made herself seen in the moonlight. "Let us dance under the stars!"

Maria removed the battle worn helmet from her love's head and tossed it aside, allowing a cascade of verdant hair to fall like a shower of ivy. She buried herself into warm and welcoming arms as tightly as she could before following in a quiet dance in time to music that only the nighttime could conjure forth. Eventually, Draco halted their dance to produce a bouquet of flowers from her messenger's bag; long-stem roses.

But as quick as Draco had appeared, she was gone again, faded from existence, leaving Maria wondering if she had even been there at all. The only telling clue left were the roses lying on the cold cobblestones. Crying tears of loneliness, sadness, and despair, she clutched them as close to her heart as she could. Their scent reminded her of better days, days when life had been simple and free, a time before the death of her beloved Draco.

"Though we must part, my life goes on  
But my heart won't let you go.  
I'll recall your eyes, so gentle and wise,  
A shield from fears I call my own."

"Light as a feather, you touched my heart,  
Leaving me forever yours.  
Our love, come what may, will ne'er age a day.  
I'll wait for you, evermore."

In an effort to let go of her past, Maria tossed the roses over the balcony's edge. They, like Draco, faded from her sight, leaving no indication that they had ever been. All that remained were the memories that she'd cherish long as she'd live.

It hadn't been long before the chancellor had found her. He beckoned her from the darkened doorway. "Prince Ralse is looking for a dance partner," he said. "Please come inside, and leave the remnants of the past behind. Our kingdom is aligned with that of the East now. We must learn to adopt their ways."

Maria took one last mournful look to the heavens before reluctantly agreeing. Her imagination had not only run away, but had taken a moment to dance with her as well. She sighed in loneliness and entered the darkened castle. The fates were cruel, Draco truly was never to return, but she'd continue on. There was no choice.

* * *

 _Ultros Battle (Script Version)_  
 _Notes: There are two versions of this chapter, one for Ao3 and the other for FFN. The version for FFN is "technically" the preferred version just because the fourth wall breaking allowed me a chance to vent some of my frustrations about that archive and lack of formatting custimization._

TERRA and ULTROS crash onto the stage, landing on RASLSE and DRACO respectively. CELES looks back and forth between the two as a loud hush falls over the theatre. She buries her face into her palm.

CELES:  
Oh, bloody hell.

The IMPRESSARIO of the opera runs on stage in a panic.

IMPRESSARIO:  
Oh, my! This will never do! With the hero and the villain flattened, who will win the girl? The story's over!

TERRA stands.

TERRA:  
I'd like to win the girl!

The crowd collectively gasps.

IMPRESSARIO:  
But…you're…you're a woman! A woman can't win the girl! Women can't fight! This is opera! We have standards!

TERRA:  
I'm the world's only half-esper! I can fight to protect Celes!

CELES:  
*facepalms*  
I'm supposed to be Maria, sweetie.

ULTROS raises himself up onto his tentacles. LOCKE joins them on stage at this point.

ULTROS:  
Silence, peons! You stand in the presence of octopus royalty!  
*grins*  
Did ya miss me?

TERRA:  
Hey, wait a second! I stabbed you!

ULTROS:  
*cackles*  
Sorry, sweetheart! I'm the recurring boss! You can't hurt me with your dull-ass swords no matter how sharp they are!

LOCKE:  
Say again?

ULTROS:  
*raises a balled tentacle*  
I'm this story's recurring boss, boy-o! Or the literary recurring villain! Conventions dictate that I…am…invincible! A power I can use to make all the ladies of the world mine!  
*cackles*

TERRA:  
What the bloody hell is he on about?

LOCKE shrugs.

LOCKE:  
Maybe Sabin didn't hit him hard enough last time.

CELES:  
I guess we'll just have to hit him harder.

CELES reaches up to grab her sword, which is not there.

CELES:  
Ah, bloody hell.

ULTROS snaps a tentacle around CELES.

ULTROS:  
*licks his beak*  
And we'll start with Boobs McKenzie here!

CELES:  
Oi! Put me down, snack food!

TERRA rushes ULTROS.

TERRA:  
Put her down, you jerk!

With a swipe of a tentacle, he sends her flying off stage where she lands with the sound of crashing cymbals. The crowd gasps.

CELES:  
Terra!

LOCKE readies himself for battle.

LOCKE:  
Ah, nuts.

ULTROS:  
Someone's missing… Oh, I know!

He spits out a green ink blob at LOCKE. There is a flash of light and he suddenly is a short pudgy green frog/turtle hybrid…with breasts.

LOCKE:  
What the hell?!

ULTROS:  
Imp! My buddy ol' pal! I'm glad to see you! And you're looking mighty sexy today!

LOCKE:  
Wait. What?

LOCKE is sent flying via tentacle.

CELES:  
What are you retards doing?!

ULTROS:  
Aw, poor Impy!  
*to the crowd/readers*  
As you can see, I ain't no garden variety octopus! Not only am I royalty, but I'm also an octopus mage as well!

The crowd boos him.

CELES:  
You're a god damned looney!

ULTROS:  
Be quiet, Boobs!

He latches another tentacle across CELES' mouth. CELES struggles. The crowd boos him once again before gasping.

ULTROS:  
We need some music up in this house! You!

He points a tentacle to the orchestra pit.

ULTROS:  
Start playing! Something upbeat!

The maestro shrugs and leads the pit into a song. ULTROS points another tentacle off in a random direction.

[!Ao3Version!]  
ULTROS:  
And you! Yeah, you, you literary disaster! You haven't been using those fancy footnotes the last couple of chapters like you used to! Use one right now to give these readers a taste of what my new battle music is! And the rest of you! Click that footnote![1] Do it! Do it now or I'll squeeze blondie 'til her tits pop!

[!FFN Version!]  
ULTROS:  
And you! Yeah, you, you literary disaster! You haven't been using those fancy footnotes the last couple of chapters like you used to! Use one right now to give these readers a taste of what my new battle music is! And the rest of you! Click that footnote![1] Do it! Do it no-

He rubs a tentacle on a non-existent chin.

ULTROS:  
Wait a second. This is fanfiction dot net. Clickable footnotes can't be made. You have to scroll…all the way…to the end of a…[!insert rounded amount of words] chapter!  
*cackles*  
What a time waster! What an immersion breaker! No wonder people hate footnotes!  
*cackles, wipes a tear away*  
I truly am a villain to make you do that! Well, I guess I can hold off on makin' blondie's tits pop 'til you scroll back.  
[!End Differing Versions!]

The crowd boos and jeers.

ULTROS:  
Don't boo me, you jerks! All of you, especially you people reading this! I'm the literary equivalent to a recurring boss! I'm supposed to do things like this! You love me! You worship me!

TERRA:  
What the bloody hell are you talking about?!

ULTROS:  
I'm the new Gilgamesh! That's what I'm talkin'-

ULTROS finally notices TERRA standing just on stage looking none too impressed. He screeches in fear and sends ink flying in all directions. The crowd groans and jeers. TERRA takes off running to attack ULTROS. ULTROS meets her halfway with his tentacles. The two trade blows several times, with ULTROS' tentacles acting as blades. He manages to catch TERRA off guard, slicing her in the abdomen. She spins back in a retreat, leaving a trail of blood. The crowd gasps.

ULTROS:  
Oh, yeah, Minty! You like that? That's just a taste of my new recurring boss powers!  
*cackles*

A white-blue light surrounds TERRA as she clasps her hands together, forcing her katana to hover in a mid-air defensive position. Her wounds heal and katana are in hand once again. The crowd cheers.

ULTROS:  
Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You have an advanced healing factor?!

TERRA:  
What are you on about? Just let Celes go!

ULTROS:  
 _Never!_

ULTROS whip snaps a tentacle around TERRA's mouth and cackles as he waves her in the air.

ULTROS:  
You lovely ladies will be the start of the Ultros harem!  
*licks his beak*  
Just think, all of us naked in a sea of tentacle, undulating in pleasure.

ULTROS brings TERRA up close to his face.

ULTROS:  
And then I can lick that pleasure straight from your-

SABIN:  
Look out below!

ULTROS' expression drops.

ULTROS:  
I did not see this coming.

The weight from above lands on his head, crushes him, and bounces off. He wobbles around a bit before falling backward. TERRA and CELES are released.

ULTROS:  
*mumbles*  
Hoisted by my own petard…

SABIN drops down from above.

SABIN:  
I guess this means I win the girl.

TERRA:  
Uh, no.

CELES:  
Over my dead body.

A dart imbeds itself in CELES' neck. Her eyes roll into her head and she falls to the floor. The crowd gasps as TERRA, SABIN, and now FEM-IMP LOCKE look on. SABIN suddenly looks to TERRA.

SABIN:  
She said it. Sorry, Terra.

TERRA glares.

SETZER:  
Hold it right there!

SETZER suddenly drops down from the ceiling on a rope and grabs CELES. The crowd gasps.

SETZER:  
Greetings! And my compliments on a most impressive performance, but I'm afraid that I'm a man of my word. This lovely lady is coming with me!

As quick as he had arrived, they were gone. The crowd cheers. TERRA, SABIN, and FEM-IMP LOCKE look up at the ceiling. The IMPRESSARIO runs out from behind the backstage curtains.

IMPRESSARIO:  
Such unforeseen twists! Such wild turns! Just as we think that Maria would be won from the tentacles of the octopus, she's dragged off by the Wandering Gambler instead! What fate lies in store for her now? Be sure to come back for Part Two in a few weeks!

The crowd cheers again.

SABIN:  
No, thanks. Operas're boring.

TERRA and LOCKE nod in agreement.

[1] Final Fantasy V's "The Battle with Gilgamesh" aka "Battle at the Big Bridge."

* * *

 _FFVIII's Squall Makes an Appearance with FFIX's Zidane_

Celes had been lucky that she had been standing where she had been. Otherwise, she would have been crushed by Terra and that damned octopus, Ultros, like unfortunate actors Zidane and Squall. Where the bloody hell had those two come from? She buried her face in her palm and shook her head. "Bloody hell," she muttered. The silence in the theatre was so deafening that she was certain that people in the back had heard her slip up. She hovered over the unconscious Terra to check for injuries.

It wasn't long before the Impresario running this operatic production appeared from backstage to assess the situation. "Oh my!" he squealed in a panic. "This will never do! With the hero and the villain flattened, who will win the girl? The story's over!"

Celes couldn't believe the audacity of this man. There were injured people here and all he could think about was his damned opera. God damn drama queen. But to her surprise, Terra suddenly sat up and rubbed her head. "I'd like to win the girl!" she squeaked. Celes could only smile and soothe emerald hair. Of course she would.

The crowd, as a collective unit, gasped, almost as if they had never heard of a same-sex relationship. This was why Celes hated the sticks. "But…you're…you're a woman!" the Impresario stuttered out. "A woman can't win the girl! Women can't fight! This is opera! We have standards!" And there was her validation of why she hated the sticks.

Terra suddenly stood, a katana in hand and pointed to the sky. "I'm the world's only half-esper!" she cried in an attempt at dramatic acting. "I can fight to protect Celes!" Despite the stiltedness and horrendous tone, the crowd still cheered.

Celes just buried her face into her palm and muttered, "I'm supposed to be Maria, sweetie."

"Silence peons!"

* * *

 _"Very polite for a scoundrel."_

Terra had to fight the urge to draw her katana. A silver haired man in a leather duster had appeared out of nowhere behind the now inert Celes and held her in one arm. His other was wrapped in a rope dangling from the ceiling. "Greetings!" he said with an incredibly deep voice. "My compliments on a most impressive performance, all of you!"

"Let her go!" Terra threatened.

"Ah, but I'm afraid that I'm a man of my word. This lovely lady is coming with me!" He tugged on the rope and, with a wink, disappeared above the catwalks.

Terra fought to keep her fire at bay. While Celes was supposed to have been "kidnapped" by the Wandering Gambler, that didn't help the fact that she wanted to run after her. Also, Celes being drugged hadn't even been considered. Who knew how long the drug would affect her!

"Well, he seemed nice," Sabin said. "Very polite for a scoundrel."

"This isn't right," Terra said as wrung her hands and folded imaginary laundry with worry. "I need to go after her."

A tug on her dress, brought her attention down to the Imp that Locke had been transformed into.

* * *

 _The Ao3 Difference (Final Version)_  
 _Notes: As mentioned earlier, FFN got a different version of chapter eighteen and (for once) is concidered as the difinitive version. Only one paragraph is different, but it's that slight difference that drastically changes the level of Ultros' interactivity with the reader. Footnotes (for readers) are a pain in the ass. Provided here is the Ao3 version of this scene minus the awesomely clickable footnote._

It was at this point that the orchestra began to play and filled the opera hall with lively upbeat music.[1] Disaster of literature? Who or what the hell was that? Footnotes? Chapters? Readers? Was this lunatic implying that life as they knew it was a book of some kind? A story? Ultros was clearly off his rocker and quite sick in the mind. Celes tried kicking him in the head to rectify that but found herself too far away to connect. Fucking tentacles!

"And the rest of you! Click the above footnote!" Ultros demanded. "Do it! Do it now, or I'll squeeze blondie 'til her tits pop!"

As the crowd booed and jeered at her octopus captor, Celes once again tried to break free of his grip and came up empty. She had no idea who the hell he was talking to, or what he was even talking about, but the idea of being squeezed so hard that her insides would burst out through her nipples was a very real fear at this juncture. She quite liked her insides where they were just fine!


	5. Chapter 5

**_Abandoned Side Story and Chapters Nineteen and Twenty_**

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Abandoned Maranda Uprising Sidestory:_  
1) An Embarassing Situation

 _Chapter Nineteen:_  
 _The Winds of Chance_  
1) Exposition Opening  
2) Metal Gear Celes  
_ _A) Take 1  
_ _B) Take 2  
3) "Lemme guess. Blonde Woman? Heart as cold as the ice she can conjur?"  
4) On the Deck of the Ship (Terra's POV)  
5) Celes Negotiates Passage to Vector (Script Version)  
6) Celes/Terra Fluff (Script)

 _Chapter Twenty:_  
 _Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts_  
1) Terra Remembers  
_ _A) As the Chapter Opening  
_ _B) Second Attempt  
2) Kefka Walks into a Room Full of Mega Man References

* * *

 _Abandoned Maranda Uprising Sidestory:_  
 _An Embarassing Situation_

This morning had given a new meaning to the phrase "waking up with morning moistness". Imperial General Celes Chere had been startled out of a pleasant dream of nothingness. By what she knew not, but her first instinct had been to leap into action with icy fists and swearing. Unfortunately for her, because the alcohol from the night before was still strong in her system and the blankets wrapped around her bare legs, she tumbled face first to the ground with yelp and a curse.

"Why, my dear Celes," tsked an all familiar voice. It was a voice Celes really didn't want to deal with this early in the morning. "Just take a look at you! Such a mess! So unfitting for a general of the Empire!" One Kefka Palazzo, or as she affectionately referred to him, Court Mage Douchebag.

Celes would have gotten on her feet, grabbed him by his overstuffed collar, and thrown him out of her apartment. There was a problem with that. She was bare-ass naked.

* * *

 _Chapter Nineteen:_  
 _The Winds of Chance_

 _Exposition Opening_

Celes sighed and watched the darkening world pass by below her. It had been a few hours, and she still couldn't believe what had happened. Setzer Gabbiani, notorious gambler and black marketeer, was taking them to Vector. How she had managed, she couldn't be for sure, but she wasn't going to look a gift chocobo in the mouth. Maybe it had been the fact that she had talked down a worried Terra from incinerating the entire airship. Maybe he had been impressed by the fact that she had managed to escape her confines via air-ducting. Or perhaps it simply was that he was a gentleman and was honoring their bargain. Yes. It was all because of a coin toss. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to sleep with her. She hoped and shuddered with the thought.

"You know, I think you may be even more beautiful than Maria," he had said.

Of course, that comment had sent her into a tizzy. "What the bloody hell does that have to do taking us to Vector?!" she had snapped.

"If you, General Chere, become my wife…I'll take you to Vector."

Poor Terra had bared witness to this and had to be talked down once again. Celes knew she could be protective, but until that point had had no idea just had jealous she could get. It had been endearing and scary at the same time. Thank god for Sabin interfering and suggesting a coin toss, or, well, a medallion toss. This had made things fair – to a point.

"Heads, you help us. Tails, I'll bloody marry you," she had said, much to Setzer's excitement and Terra's dismay. Celes hadn't been happy about it either, but what else was she supposed to do? Kill everyone on board? Then how would they pilot the airship?

It was a funny thing that medallion. Celes had never noticed the keepsake Sabin kept around his neck until after he ripped it from its chain around his neck. And it hadn't been until after it had landed that she realized that it wasn't any old gil coin.

* * *

 _Metal Gear Celes, Take 1_

Celes peered out of the locker she had crammed herself into, watched two of Setzer Gabbiani's lackeys walk by, and assessed the situation. Gabbiani's men were armed with the standard thief weaponry, daggers and blades of varying sizes. The real surprise was that they were also armed with black market MagiTek pistols. Surprising, but not surprising. This also made things much more difficult. It was a good thing she decided to err on the side of caution and not her usual beat-the-ever-living-shit-out-of-everyone method. The last thing she needed at this point was a smoking crater in her chest.

Once the two henchmen disappeared around the corner, Celes slipped out and, as quietly as she could, stalked her way down the corridor. She needed to find the cockpit or bridge or whatever it was they called the captain's room. That was where Setzer was going to be and were she was going to commandeer this flying marvel of modern engineering. The problem was, this damn airship was so huge! She had no idea where she was or where to go. It wasn't like she could just stop a random lackey and ask for directions.

 _"'Scuse me, mate. Where's the bridge? Also, you got a spare set of clothing I could borrow?"_

Ha! As if that would work!

"Did you see that flash of light outside?" came a voice from around the corner.

Celes swore under her breath and searched for a hiding spot in a panic. Open door to the left. Nothing. Open door to the right. Nothing! All that there was was a…box?

"Maybe it was a ghost!" said another.

* * *

 _Metal Gear Celes, Take 2_

Celes peered out of the locker she had crammed herself into, watched as two of Setzer Gabbiani's lackeys decided to park themselves in front of her hiding spot, and assessed the situation. They were armed with the standard thief weaponry, daggers and blades of varying sizes, but the real surprise was that they were also armed with black market MagiTek pistols. This also made things much more difficult. It was a good thing she had decided to err on the side of caution and not her usual beat-the-ever-living-shit-out-of-everyone-no-second-thoughts method. A T-shirt and her underwear wouldn't do much to prevent a smoking crater in her chest.

"Did you see that flash of light outside earlier?" said one, male.

"Maybe it was the ghost airship!" said the other, female. She looked about Celes' size, too. The yellow and purple uniform looked pretty snazzy to someone who lacked proper clothing.

"No, way! Ghost airship? That's about as stupid as the boss kidnapping some opera diva!" He scoffed. "How does this make us money?"

The room fell eerily silent, to the point that Celes became afraid that the hired goons could hear her breathing. That was a very good question. She had assumed that Setzer had just wanted to add a pair of giant airships to his collection.

"You're kidding, right?" the woman said. "You have no clue?"

The man shook his head. "If I could see things like the boss, I wouldn't be questioning his sanity."

Another moment of silence passed. "It's called ransom, idiot!"

"Who's going to pay us for the return of some bimbo?"

"Uh, gee. Maybe the entire city of Jidoor?"

"Why?"

"Maybe because she's the sole reason people spend money in that overpriced snob-town to begin with?"

"You think it's going to work?"

Another moment of silence. "Honestly, I think the boss kidnapped her just to ogle her."

Celes sighed. No new information and certainly nothing she could use to take control of the airship. She needed to get out of this locker- It was cramped as all hell. -but how best to go about it with these two blocking the way? Ice them to the floor and falcon punch them? Try to lure them away with noises? Actually, how would one go about that while trapped in a locker?

Said the man, "You know, I don't recall a fight scene between a green haired woman and a giant octopus in The Dream Oath."

Celes froze. Here we go.

Replied the woman, "Maybe it was one of those new age interpretations."

"Did we even get the right woman? I mean, she and the rest of the actors didn't put up much of fight."

* * *

 _"Lemme guess. Blonde Woman? Heart as cold as the ice she can conjur?"_

Aika sighed and poured two cups of coffee. One of the worst things about being new to the air pirating business under Setzer Gabiani was the boredom of night watch. Thankfully, coffee was provided but it just wasn't enough. With the boss having the only airship in the world, aside from Vector's nearly defunct Royal Airforce, there was really nothing to look out for. While airborne, there was no way that anyone or anything could manage to take over the ship, let alone get on board. And the one person who could cause trouble tonight was nothing more than a pampered songstress under lock and key.

Night watch was so incredibly dull. And these stupid paper cups with their playing card designs were so cheap…and stupid.

She handed a cup to her friend Vyse and smiled when he thanked her. "Should we get back to our post?" he said.

"I don't really want to," she said. "I'm almost half tempted to take control of the airship and go off to find some adventure!"

Vyse stood and patted her on the back. "I know how you feel, Aika," he said as he led her out of the galley, "but we're the young blood here. We don't call the shots."

This was true. They had joined Setzer's crew six months prior after an "accident" had opened up two spots. Of course, this meant they got stuck with menial jobs on a regular basis – cleaning the galley, cleaning the latrines- Ew. -scrubbing the deck, night watch. Aika didn't have to become an air pirate to be treated like a jerk or a maid. She could have gotten a job with Pruert Durmoch if she had wanted that. Still, there weren't too many options for South Figarian orphans. At least Setzer provided clothing, food, shelter, and health insurance on top of their weekly pay.

"I guess," Aika said. "Still, one day, I'd like to call the shots."

"We'll get there someday, Aika." Vyse turned and winked at her with his one good eye. "Just have a little faith, huh."

"I know, Vyse. I'm just impatient. I want some action."

He laughed. "Be careful what you wish for. Or it may turn out that that streak of light we saw earlier was that Fire Witch that everybody's been talking about!"

Aika nearly snorted coffee out her nose. The Fire Witch?! "Shut up!" she said before punching his shoulder. "How?! I highly doubt those bastard Imperials can fly!" Still, the thought of a dangerous woman who controlled fire and flight was a scary one. But if anyone with that kind of power did manage to get on board, what could just the two of them do?

Vyse shrugged and leaned up against the door. "Maybe. Maybe not. Just be careful with what you say, okay? You'll jinx our string of good luck."

"Fine. …Whatever." They had reached their post, standing guard over a songstress behind a locked door. The door was solid, so she couldn't punch her way out and only Setzer had the key. Aika leaned up against the wall beside Vyse. Despite how right he was, she still had an itch for something to happen, some excitement! Anything! A bandit raid! Setzer streaking down the corridor! Vyse streaking down the corridor! Vyse actually noticing that she cared about him! That songstress actually turning out to be an undercover military agent! The possibilities of excitement were endless…and very far away from her grasp.

"Is it just me or did it get colder?"

Aika never got the chance to answer Vyse. The door behind him exploded outward in a shower of wood and ice and sent him flying. Before she could even react, an icy cold hand clamped over her mouth, another slapped the coffee from her own, and a very angry, scantily clad songstress appeared in front of her.

"Listen up, Red," the woman said in a thick Vectorian accent. "I don't have a chocobo's age worth of time at my disposal, so let's make this quick. I'm going to ask a few questions. If I like what I hear, I'll let you go. We have a deal?"

Aika risked a quick look at Vyse. He was out cold, possibly from whatever this woman had used to smash open the door. It looked like she had used ice, but where had she gotten it? There was no ice maker in that room! Why was she so cold?!

The woman forced herself back in Aika's line of sight, her eyes demanding attention, her breath a cloud of moisture that hung in the air. She snarled, "Oi! That bloke isn't going to be helping you for a while. I've made sure of it. Now, I'm a woman of my word. Tell me what I want, you can walk away unharmed to help your friend. Deal?"

This woman wasn't a songstress and if there was one thing Aika wasn't, it was dumb. If this woman could burst through a solid oak door with no tools or explosives, then what could she do to the human body? Movement in the woman's free hand drew her attention, scaring her with what she saw. An icicle was growing from her palm! Was this- Was this magic?! It was probably best if she just agreed to whatever. She nodded her head the best she could despite being held against a wall.

"Cheers, mate. Now, I have two questions for you. One: Where's Setzer?" The woman slowly removed her hand from Aika's mouth, but maintained her threat with the sharp end of her icicle. "And bear in mind that my ice blade can be as sharp or as dull as I want it."

Aika swallowed hard and pointed her shaking hand back toward the way she and Vyse had come. "He's… He's on the bridge," she said, her words lined with fear. "Down the corridor, third left, up the stairs. Please don't kill me!"

The woman smiled a cold smile and brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Next question isn't a question," she said. "It's a demand. Take your clothes off."

Aika flattened against the wall. And now to top it all off, some pervert woman wanted to see her naked. Vyse was right. She really should have been careful with what she had asked for.

A woman screamed when Sabin crashed through a window and landed hard on the floor. Another scream and a thud beside him told him that Locke was on solid ground as well. Baldur's Gate, that was quite a ride! "You okay, Locke?" he coughed as he stood.

"I think I swallowed my lungs," said a feminine voice beside him.

Sabin took in his surrounds. They were in a decently lit hallway of wood that was littered with the remains of the window they had crashed through. Beside him, Locke was splayed on his back, breathing rapidly and showcasing the magically charmed femininity that Terra had failed to dispel. A squeak of fear behind him grabbed at his attention. He readied his fist and found a half-naked red-headed girl cowering next to an unconscious one-eyed guy. Surrounding them were bits and pieces of what used to be a door.

"Lemme guess," he said with a smirk. "Blonde woman? Heart as cold as the ice she can conjur?"

The red-head slowly nodded. "Who… Who are you people?" she said. "How- How did you get up here?!"

Before Sabin could answer, Terra came crashing through another window and landed hard on Locke in a sitting position. "Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin.

"First, you leave me a woman," Locke said through clenched teeth, "and now you're trying to break my ribs! What gives, lady?!"

"Sorry!" Terra said again. "I can only dispel what Libra tells me is there!"

Sabin turned his attention back to the red-head. She wasn't going to be a problem, as she already looked pretty traumatized. "We're not here to hurt you. We're just chasing after our friend. Where is she?"

The frightened girl merely pointed in a direction.

 _On the Deck of the Ship (Terra's POV)_  
 _ **Notes:** I really hadn't wanted to cut this, but I had basically written myself into a situation where I had one long continuous scene that required a point of view switch the couldn't be done properly. I initially wanted to showcase a bit more of Vyse and Aika as well as Locke's condition, but it's gone to live on as background dialogue as Celes sneaks out of the bridge._

Terra ducked under the swing of her opponent's blade, and made an attempt to trip him up with a sweep of her foot. Before she could celebrate her success, he was back on his feet with a backward roll. She stood as well and readied herself for another attack.

"I'll ask again, Fire Witch" said the one-eyed man, "what do you want from us?"

"I want my friend," she said. "I also need passage to Vector."

"And you think that attacking us is the way to go about it?"

He lunged at her, forcing her to go into a defensive position. Her blades met with his and prevented her clothes and arms from being sliced off, the force of his blow redirected harmlessly to the side. She followed up with roundhouse kick that was blocked with his forearm.

"You attacked me first!" she said.

"You showed up out of nowhere in a beast costume, covered in fire, and threatened us!" Terra's ribs burst with a dull ache where his elbow connected. "That's grounds for us to defend ourselves!"

She stumbled back and, again, brought her blades up in defense. She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, but it was clear that they wanted to hurt her. Perhaps she hadn't thought this plan through very well. It had been pretty silly to think that they'd just hand over the woman they had just kidnapped. The only way to get passed the guard was to overpower him; curbing her strength just wasn't working. If only she could knock him out without serious injury; perhaps knock him down and threaten him with a blade to the face and a wave of fire.

She broke the deadlock with a leap back, surprising him, and surprised him further with an explosion of fire between them. He stumbled backwards and fell hard when Sabin tackled him to the floor. Terra lowered her blades and her frown. Well, that certainly was one way to get the job done.

Locke came up beside her, one dagger at the ready and one arm wrapped around his stomach. "I had a feeling this was going to happen," he said with a sigh.

"At least this guy ain't gettin' up for a while," Sabin said with a cheeky grin and a thumbs up.

A flash of light and loud sharp bang caught Terra's attention. Something was flying in the air towards Locke! Time suddenly felt like it had been slowed down by excess baggage. The act of stepping forward took forever. Bringing her katana up and swinging it passed by after another eternity. A metallic clang and the following splintering of wood severed time from its anchors, allowing it to flow normally again. She had hit whatever had been flying towards them and sent it ricocheting off somewhere else, probably into a crate. Behind her, Locke coughed with shock.

At the opposite end of the deck, near where the two guards had initially been standing, huddled a handful of men and women armed with old-fashioned gun-powdered pistols, and all at the battle ready. In the center, loomed a tall, silver-haired man in a long leather duster, his handgun still smoking from a recent fire. It was a scarred face that Terra would never forget. He had drugged Celes and taken her away. The Wandering Gambler, Setzer Gabbiani.

"Vyse!" The red-headed, pigtailed guard from earlier almost ran out to her companion, but was stopped by Setzer's free arm.

"Hold, Aika," he said. "Two of you I recognize from the opera house. You, with the bandana, I'm assuming you had been the charmed imp."

"Don't remind me," Locke muttered. Of course, he was still bitter about that. Terra had been able to reverse the imp curse, but he still remained female or female-ish. She wasn't certain which. Her Libra spell didn't give her much of the information she needed and he continued to be vague on the subject. All she could ascertain was that he now had breasts and was not happy about it.

"Greetings once again," Setzer said with a nod. "Kudos on achieving something never done before, storming my airship. Tell me, how did you manage such a feat?"

Terra snorted. "How else?" she said. "We walked."

Setzer laughed for a moment before turning maudlin again. The switch had happened so fast that it had been jarring. "Amusing. Why are you people here?"

Before Terra could open her mouth, Locke grabbed hold of her arm, tightly. She ripped it from his grasp and rubbed it to ease the sting of his nails. "We need passage to Vector," he said. "All other avenues of travel have been cut off to us."

"And why should I help Imperials, especially the dangerous Fire Witch, back to their homeland? While the Empire has been good for the black market business, they're no friends of mine."

Terra lowered her head. Is that how people saw her? As dangerous? As someone who'd sooner burn them to a crisp than anything else? She mumbled, "I have a name. It's 'Terra,' not bloody 'Fire Witch'." She felt Locke's hand on her arm once again, but this time not as tightly.

"We're not Imperials," Locke said. "We're Returners."

"-on a mission to kick Imperial ass!" Sabin said with a punch into his own hand.

Setzer gave a half-cocked grin, and fully cocked his pistol, his aim resting right between Terra's eyes. The remainder of his crew followed suit. "Intriguing," he said, "but as they say, 'Pull the other one.'"

Terra readied herself for the worst. So much for a daring, romantic nighttime rescue. If she and Celes had swapped positions, Celes would have had no issues beating the crap out of these guys. Terra hadn't wanted to do that. She hadn't wanted to harm. She had only wanted to save her partner. Plus, she was fairly certain Setzer's crew was needed to operate an airship of this size. She snorted and said, "I'm not touching anything that's called 'the other one.' Ew."

Setzer chuckled. "Cute," he said. "Men, throw these Returners in the brig until we decide what do with them."

"I'm not going down without a fight!" Locke said.

"Me either!" Sabin cried.

Terra remained silent and continued staring Setzer down. Part of her wanted to stand her ground, to fight. The other part wanted to surrender peacefully and work her way around from the inside. Still another part of her was afraid of the fact that so many firearms were aimed dead at her. She had access to time magic, but considering it only worked some of the time, it was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Dying on this airship wouldn't help anyone. Not her. Not Celes. Especially not the espers held captive in Vector.

Setzer shook his head. "You either surrender peacefully or the Fire Witch finds herself full of lead. Which is it?"

* * *

 _Celes Negotiates Passage to Vector (Script Ver)_

CELES appears behind SETZER with an ice dagger at his throat and her free arm pinning him to her person.

CELES:  
G'day, mate. How's about a third option:  
You and your hired goons lower your firearms and I think about not slicing your throat open.

SETZER's crowd collectively gasp and back away to give them space.

TERRA:  
Celes!

CELES:  
Terra, stand down!

Looking hurt, Terra does as she is told. She sheaths her katana. Locke follows suit.

SETZER:  
You're not Maria.

CELES:  
Look, I'm not one for this cloak and dagger gig, but I took Maria's place because we need help into Vector. Your ship is the only-

SETZER:  
If you're not Maria, then we have nothing further to discuss. Men-

CELES:  
Oh, I think we do. See that big wall of muscles over there? Sabin Rene Figaro, the beloved crown prince of Figaro. What do you think'll happen once his brother, King Edgar, finds out he died seeking your assistance?

Silence.

CELES:  
That other…er, guy, Locke Cole, is a well-respected high-ranking Returner. Guess who'll be coming after you if something happens to him. *snorts* Certainly not the Empire, mate.

Silence.

CELES:  
And that girl with the wild green hair, the 'Fire Witch' as you mooks love calling her. Her name's Terra, and she's a former Imperial MagiTek Knight. As for me, I used to be a high-ranking Imperial General.

SETZER's face drops for a moment.

SETZER:  
General?

CELES:  
General Celestial Rosa Chere. All of us are members of the Returners and officially under Figaro's protection. Kill us, imprison us… Either way, you're going to have Figarian soldiers and Returners fishing you out of the sky. Do you really want that?

SETZER:  
No.

CELES:  
And I don't want to put my foot up your arse.

CELES dissolves her ice blade and releases SETZER.

CELES:  
Look, we've gotten off to a bad start, hey, and for that I apologize. But we had no other means to contact you.

SETZER holsters his firearm and readjusts his duster. He grins and gestures to his crew to do the same.

SETZER:  
Fair enough. Let's talk, then. And don't misunderstand, I haven't agreed to helping you. I'm still not entirely sure why you need me or my airship.

CELES:  
Long story short, our mission is to take down the Empire's MagiTek Facility. To do that, we need to be in Vector.

SETZER:  
The Empire, for the most part, has left me and my operations alone. I don't agree with some of their methods, but I see no reason in stirring up a hornet's nest when I don't have to.

LOCKE:  
Doma had said the same thing. Look at them now.

SETZER:  
This is true, but, if I'm not mistaken, they had been holding Imperial scouts hostage.

CELES:  
Imperial scouts that had no bloody business being there in the first place. There was nothing strategic about Doma. They wrecked the place because Kefka was bloody bored that week!

SETZER:  
Is this why Figaro has gone to war with the Empire?

SABIN:  
*shrugs* Mostly. We have other…more personal reasons as well.

SETZER:  
I see.

Silence. SETZER mulls things over.

SETZER:  
You know, General Chere, I think you may be even more beautiful than Maria.

TERRA grabs on to CELES' arm protectively.

CELES:  
What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything?

SETZER:  
If you become my wife, I'll take you to Vector. Otherwise…

TERRA:  
What?!

TERRA repeatedly shakes her head.

TERRA:  
We'll find another way! We'll swim! I'll fly us there one by one!

CELES quiets her by placing a finger to her lips and raises an eyebrow at SETZER.

CELES:  
I'm into women, not men. You really expect me to agree to this?

SETZER:  
Those are my terms. You want into Vector? I want a beautiful wife. I think that's a fair trade.

CELES regards the others. LOCKE looks mortified. SABIN shrugs. TERRA is on the verge of crying.

CELES:  
Right, but I have stipulations of my own, hey. A coin toss. Heads, you join the Returners and help us. Tails, I'm…I'm yours.

SETZER rubs his hands together in excitement.

SETZER:  
A game of chance? Truly a woman after my own heart! I like it!

TERRA opens her mouth to protest, but nothing comes out. SETZER's crew look about each other as if they can't believe what they're hearing.

LOCKE:  
Celes, you can't be serious with this! You were ready to smash my face for suggesting you wear a dress!

CELES:  
Right, and I'm still aggro because it's gotten us into this bloody mess.

TERRA:  
Celes, if you marry him, then that means…

CELES:  
I know, sweetie, but if this is what it takes to get the job done, then so be it. So, who has a gil?

SABIN pulls a medallion from his necklace.

SABIN:  
Not a gil, but it is a coin.

CELES:  
Flip it, unless Mr. Gabbiani has any objections?

SETZER:  
*shakes head* As the lady said.

SABIN flips the coin. It bounces several times before stopping between CELES and SETZER's toes, heads up. A noise of surprise escapes TERRA.

CELES:  
Well, allow me to be the first to welcome you fine lot to the ranks of the Returners.

SETZER picks up the coin and studies it.

SETZER:  
A Figarian minted coin? I've never seen one of these.

SABIN:  
My father had it minted days before he was killed by the Empire. It was to symbolize that Edgar and I would lead Figaro into prosperity.

SETZER:  
Interesting.

He flips the coin back to SABIN.

SETZER:  
Now, I could say that I've been hustled and demand a best two out of three.

CELES:  
True, mate, but that's the chance you take in a game of chance, isn't it?

SETZER:  
*laughs* What are the odds? I love it!

CELES extends her hand.

CELES:  
We have a deal?

SETZER takes it and shakes.

SETZER:  
Of course! Gambling against the Empire; nothing to lose but my life. I'm a chip in your pile! Let's up the ante and get you to Vector!

* * *

 _Celes/Terra Fluff (Script)_  
 _Notes: This had been cut not only because it really didn't fit anywhere but the fact that I_ **totally** _didn't rip off Wonderwall. I also felt that, in the grand scheme of things, it's Celes who has trouble speaking from the heart while Terra wears her heart on her sleeve, not the other way around._

CELES approaches TERRA at the edge of the deck. TERRA is looking out over the darkened world below.

CELES:  
There you are. I've been looking all over for you.

Silence. CELES leans up against the railing, facing back the way she had come.

CELES:  
Sweetheart, you okay?

TERRA:  
*shakes her head and wipes away tears* No.

CELES:  
What's wrong?

TERRA:  
It's nothing.

CELES:  
It can't be nothing. You wouldn't be crying if that was the case.

CELES hugs TERRA.

CELES:  
Is this about what happened with Setzer?

TERRA:  
*nods* I'm sorry. It's stupid to obsess, but I can't stop thinking about if you had lost. It…scares me.

CELES:  
Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. But there's no point in worrying about something that didn't and won't happen.

TERRA:  
I know. All the roads that lead the way are winding. All the lights that light the way are blinding.

The two kiss. TERRA cups CELES' face in her hand.

TERRA:  
There are so many things that I want to say to you, but I don't know how.

CELES:  
Take your time, sweetheart. I'll be right here when it comes to you.

TERRA:  
On the airship?

CELES:  
By your side, you silly bugger.

TERRA:  
I like that even better.

* * *

 _Chapter Twenty:_  
 _Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts_

 _Terra Remembers (Chapter Opening)_

They had made love under the stars in a natural spring hidden in the mountains and protected by a thicket of trees. It had been like something out of a cheap gil store romance novel, but it had been an experience to remember without shallow characterizations and spelling errors. Celes couldn't remember the specifics of it all-that's how intense it had been-but the feeling, the hot fuzzy fog in her head, the bursting of her heart, the trembling of her nerves, and Terra's naked form splayed out on the rock next to her told her everything she needed to know. That she couldn't move her legs said something as well, and when considering Terra's rough bedroom demeanor and insatiable sexual appetite exhaustion and over stimulation were always the causes.

Celes propped herself up on an elbow and ran her free hand along the glistening curvature in front of her. Her lips widened into a grin as her fingertips drank in the soft, wet touch of Terra's hips and side. They were a fair distance from the light pollution of civilization; the stars used this to their advantage in the moonless sky to illuminate everything they touched, Terra included. Even tired and wet like a cat left out in the rain, she was a goddess who radiated warmth within the faint silver skylight, which meant that Celes was the devotee left breathless by the one she worshipped.

"We should do this more often," Celes said barely above a whisper and as coherent as a drunken lout. "Y'know, under the stars."

Terra tiredly made eye contact, rolling them to achieve the feat. She sighed under her breath, which, along with her rapidly moving chest, said that she still hadn't caught it. "I don't care about the where," she said breathlessly. With the hand she wasn't using as a pillow, she petted Celes' wandering own before linking their fingers together. "I only care about the who."

"As you should." Celes leaned forward and planted a light kiss on a soft cheek. She fell to her back in time to watch a shy smile grow from the effort. She turned her attention to the stars framed by the dark tops of the surrounding trees and sorted through more unpleasant thoughts. Truth be told, this could have been their last time together, which made her cherish it that much more.

They were less than a day's foot travel from Vector and their mission was one that could end up with someone or all of them dead. Somber thoughts, maybe even a little pessimistic, but a reality. They were heading into the heart of the Empire to the place that even the craziest Imperials, save Kefka, dared not tread. Celes was dreading it but she wasn't afraid of death; she'd meet that bastard head on in any of his reaper games. It was more she was afraid that, with a slave crown, someone could take control of her, Terra, or, gods forbid, both and spell the end of the Returners and the espers as they knew them. Or perhaps the Returners would construe her proximity to Vector as traitorous.

 _Once a traitor, always a traitor._

Still, they had a mission to achieve and a promise to keep. It was no secret that Terra was anxious to find her father. It was a meeting that Celes was torn over. She wanted Terra to find that missing link in hopes that it'd jog the rest of her memories, but the introductions… Baldur's Gate, how does one of a dying race near the brink of extinction come out of the closet and introduce her lover to her family? _"Hi, daddy! Just letting you know that the esper race will die with me, since—Oops! I'm gay!"_ She could even see the expression on Terra's face; a faltering overly-exaggerated smile that screamed of a lack of comfortability and confidence, arms held out for a hug to lessen the blow of racial extinction. That would be awkward. Like cringey, kill it with fire awkward. But Celes was committed to Terra just as she was the mission. Everyone, humans and espers alike, were going to make it to the safety of the airship at Tzen or she'd die trying to get them there.

Tzen, the town of the fallen kings, once had been a sprawling metropolis and the seat of an ancient continent spanning kingdom. The kingdom itself had started crumbling when Emperor Gestahl's young father broke Vector away into its own city-state. "Vector is the oldest city in the world!" he had claimed. "We're the leaders in new ways, new technology. We deserve to lead the world into a new era!" Forty years of war then followed, only ending when a young Emperor Gestahl ravaged Tzen and slaughtered the royal family. Then when Old Man Gestahl died, the Emperor took his place, ruling Downunder with an iron fist, starting conquests on the other continents, and conducting experiments of a questionable nature. Then twenty years ago, espers happened jumping Vector's technology forward by nearly fifty years and for all the wrong reasons.

As for Tzen, people died, moved away, or were forced to relocate to Vector and join the newly rebranded Imperial Army. Large sections soon crumbled away and became breeding grounds for ghosts, legends, and other more dangerous creepy crawlies. Proof of this could be found in the smattering of ruins found for miles around the northern coast, the aptly named Marble Gardens; urban ruins so dangerous that not even the locals dared to enter. It wasn't the ghosts or the legends that scared them, it was the long list of dangerous monsters; dons, their lesser seen smaller cousins ralphs, grasswyrms, Litwor's Chickenlips, wyverns, and former Imperial experiments let loose into the wild—the jokers. That was just naming a few.

It was this quaint, run down shell of a town that Setzer had chosen to use as a base for his part in the mission. One, he had business there…supposedly. Two, he hadn't wanted to land any closer to Vector, a sentiment no one had questioned. An airship landing just outside the city of eternal darkness would certainly be scrutinized. This mission required stealth in and, hopefully, stealth out, but considering how things had been going so far just getting to this point in their journey, it wasn't looking very likely that stealth would be any help. Setzer, Vyse, and Aika had disappeared into the dark alleys leading into the Marble Gardens, leaving the group to their own devices. It hadn't mattered, anyway. He wasn't going into Vector. Someone needed to stay behind, ready for a quick getaway if needed. That someone may as well be him. Hopefully, nothing happened to them in those ruins.

After a quick stop for supplies and a monetary bribe for the owner's silence, Celes, Terra, Locke, and Sabin had embarked on a journey traversing through the Downunder outback. "The land that time forgot," Locke had called it. Celes didn't quite share the same sentiment as she had grown up here, but after a few times back and forth between the two continents, she understood what he had meant. The fauna in Downunder was different from that of the north, bigger, oddly shaped, almost prehistoric in nature. The wildlife instilled a similar feeling; they showed similarities to creatures long extinct elsewhere with some so drastically different that scientific classification failed. It didn't help that damn near everything was dangerous, poisonous, and able to kill a full-grown man in a matter of seconds if care was not observed. It also didn't help that the Empire dumped its failed genetic experiments and other monstrosities, the jokers included, in the bush to ravage travelers and natural wildlife.

This wildlife had been the reason for their halting. It had been a particularly fierce and bloody battle with scores of the giant worm-like Litor's Chickenlips, dragonesque wyverns, and the intelligent Imperial/bird-brained jokers. Nobody had been seriously hurt, but the amount of gore covering them had been astronomical. Luckily, they had been near a stream that snaked its way into a thicket of trees. After some investigation, they had found this spring hidden in the forest and fed by a waterfall high up the mountain. It had been beautiful at first sight, enough that a call to camp had been unanimous and turns had been taken for cleanliness. When night had come crashing down, tent shenanigans had led to waterfall shenanigans which had then migrated to underwater shenanigans and several other types of shenanigans before finally stopping at their present star-tanning state.

"I want to cuddle," Terra said, breaking the mental exposition, "but I'm too tired and sore to move. Scoot closer to me."

Celes brushed away the damp hair that had fallen in Terra's eyes. She said with a smirk, "Don't look at me, sweetie. I still can't feel my legs. I'm lucky I can move my arms."

A giggle escaped from underneath that dark crazy mane of hair. "Sorry. I think I got carried away."

"You did a little, but…" The memory of the pleasure overload forced her to arch her back and moan under her breath. Things had certainly come a long way from that first awkward time in Zozo. "I'm not complaining, hey."

The two fell into a silence for some time and stared into the stars, enjoying the comfortable silence and each other's presence. Terra soon rolled against Celes' side and repositioned herself, half laying on her as if she were a blanket kicked off in summertime. She cemented the embrace with a one-armed hug around the neck and a nuzzle against the nearest cheek. "Hey, Celes?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I ever tell you about my dream?"

"Dream? I don't think so. What was it about?"

Terra went silent for so long that Celes had almost feared that she had fallen asleep. The tightening of her grip said otherwise. "I've been having it for a while now. We're near a pond very much like this one, under the stars, and, um, things happen."

Celes stiffened. She knew that dream even without the definitions of any ambiguous 'things'. For her, that dream had been bittersweet. She had gotten what she'd always desired and then had it taken from her in one fell swoop. Though one could argue that it all had worked out in the end, but that still didn't excuse the near two years of heartache, depression, and anger she had suffered through.

Terra suddenly appeared above her, a frown on her face and her hair cascading down like a green waterfall. "It's not a dream, is it," she said. It hadn't been a question, and that made all the difference. She already knew the answer.

Celes had avoided the topic of their shared history because she hadn't wanted to reopen old wounds. She had a feeling that there'd be no getting around it this time. Actually, there was probably no point in hiding anything any longer. They were partners now. Besides, Terra deserved to know the truth. "No," she said softly. "That actually happened, hey. I don't remember details though. I was…pretty drunk."

"Were we always together like this?"

"Friends? Yes. Lovers? No." Celes sighed as Terra settled back into her cuddle position. "This… This is something entirely new. Hell, we probably wouldn't be in this situation if you weren't so damn pushy."

Teeth nibbled at her ear before it filled with whispered music. "What can I say? I know what I want."

* * *

 _Terra Remembers: Second attempt_

They had made love under the stars. It had been like something out of a cheap gil store romance novel, but it had been an experience to remember…without shallow characterizations and spelling errors. Celes couldn't remember the specifics of it all-that's how intense it had been-but the feeling, the hot fuzzy fog in her head, the bursting of her heart, the trembling of her nerves, Terra's naked form splayed out on the rock next to her, all told her everything she needed to know. That she couldn't move her legs said something as well, thanks in part to Terra's rough bedroom demeanor and insatiable sexual appetite.

Celes propped herself up on an elbow and ran her free hand along the glistening curvature in front of her. Her lips widened into a grin as her fingertips drank in the soft, wet touch of Terra's hips and side. They were a fair distance from the light pollution of civilization; the stars used this to their advantage in the moonless sky to illuminate everything they touched, Terra included. Even tired and wet like a cat left out in the rain, she was a goddess who radiated warmth within the faint silver skylight, which meant that Celes was a breathless devotee.

"We should do this more often," Celes said barely above a whisper and as coherent as a drunken lout. "Y'know, under the stars."

Terra tiredly made eye contact, rolling them to achieve the feat. She sighed under her breath, which, along with her rapidly moving chest, said that she still hadn't caught it. "I don't care about the where," she said breathlessly. With the hand she wasn't using as a pillow, she petted Celes' wandering own before linking their fingers together. "I only care about the who."

"As you should." Celes leaned forward and planted a light kiss on a soft cheek. She fell to her back in time to watch a shy smile grow from the effort. She turned her attention to the stars framed by the dark tops of the surrounding trees and sorted through more unpleasant thoughts. Truth be told, this could have been their last time together, which made her cherish it that much more.

They had a mission to achieve and a promise to keep. It was no secret that Terra was anxious to find her father and any other espers that might still be living. It was a meeting that Celes was torn over. She wanted Terra to find that missing link in hopes that it'd jog the rest of her memories, but the introductions… Baldur's Gate, how does one of a dying race near the brink of extinction come out of the closet and introduce her lover to her family? "Hi, daddy! Just letting you know that the esper race will die with me, since—Oops! I'm gay!" She could even see the expression on Terra's face; a faltering overly-exaggerated smile that screamed of a lack of comfortability and confidence, her arms held out for a hug to lessen the blow of racial extinction. That would be awkward. Like cringey, kill it with fire awkward. But Celes was committed to Terra just as she was the mission. Everyone, humans and espers alike, were going to make it to the safety of the airship at Tzen or she'd die trying to get them there.

"I want to cuddle," Terra said, breaking the mental exposition, "but I'm too tired and sore to move. Scoot closer to me."

Celes brushed away the damp hair that had fallen in Terra's eyes. "Don't look at me, sweetie. I still can't feel my legs. I'm lucky I can move my arms."

A giggle escaped from underneath that dark crazy mane of hair. "Sorry. I think I got carried away."

"You did a little, but…" The memory of the pleasure overload forced her to arch her back and moan under her breath. Things had certainly come a long way from that first awkward time in Zozo. "I'm not complaining, hey."

The two fell into a silence for some time and stared into the stars, enjoying the comfortable silence and each other's presence. Terra soon rolled against Celes' side and repositioned herself, half laying on her as if she were a blanket kicked off in summertime. She cemented the embrace with a one-armed hug around the neck and a nuzzle against the nearest cheek. "Hey, Celes?"

"Yeah?"

TERRA:  
I feel like we've done this before. By a lake, under the stars, the moon watching over us.

CELES:  
…

TERRA sits up.

TERRA:  
I remember now. You dragged me out of bed and took me to a lake outside the city. You kissed me. We made love and…

TERRA hugs her knees and starts to cry. CELES sits up as well and tries to comfort her with a side hug and a back rub.

TERRA:  
And… *sniffles* I…

Her composure falters.

TERRA:  
I…

Her face contorts to one of extreme agony.

TERRA:  
I couldn't stop him.

CELES:  
What?

TERRA shakes violently and cries into her hands.

TERRA:  
I couldn't stop him!

CELES:  
Kefka…

TERRA begins flailing at her head, trying to remove something that isn't there.

TERRA:  
Get it off of me! Get it off of me!

CELES makes a mad grab for TERRA's hands, but TERRA fights her off.

CELES:  
Terra! There's nothing there!

TERRA:  
I won't kill anymore!

CELES shoves TERRA to her back, straddles her waist, and pins her hands to the ground.

CELES:  
Terra!

TERRA's wails turn to pathetic whimpers.

TERRA:  
Where are you, Celes? Please save me!

CELES:  
Terra, I'm right here!

TERRA's flailings stop before her face once again turns to agony.

TERRA:  
Celes…?

CELES:  
I'm right here.

TERRA, crying, sits up and latches on to CELES with a death grip hug.

CELES:  
Sweetie, tell me what's wrong.

TERRA:  
I remember…everything.

* * *

 _Kefka Walks into a Room Full of Mega Man References_  
 _Notes: I initially had an aversion to writing things in Kefka's perspective, hence why multiple chapters (initially) showcased Kefka through the eyes of no name Imperial peons. This scene changed that aversion. But, Kefka's scene here was originally written with that aversion in mind. I had already dropped a Mega Man reference regarding Cid's team in an earlier chapter (Dr. Cossack). I was going to run with it here in the perspective of the mute assistant (Rock) of another scientist (Dr. Cain) on Cid's team._

SCENE: Cid del Norte Marquez's Laboratory, THE DEVIL'S LAB  
CID and another scientist, DR. MIKHAIL COSSACK, are pouring over notebooks, loose papers, computer-like equipment. DR. CAIN's assistant, ROCK, stands silently nearby and stares at a fluid filled tube.

CID:  
I can't believe they've made me do this once again. *sighs* I thought this nightmare was over.

MIKHAIL:  
This is just conjecture on my part, but considering that one-oh-five-three-eight failed nearly every loyalty test over the last decade, I'm not surprised that Emperor Gestahl has requested the Project be revisited.

CID:  
I'm well aware of the why, Mikhail. I just… I guess I'd placed too much hope into it all being…finished.

MIKHAIL:  
You're too attached, Cid. Perhaps you should sit this one out. Let Cain and I handle it.

CID:  
I couldn't even if I wanted to. The Emperor asked me to directly oversee this.

MIKHAIL:  
*laughs* Well, I'd say this is your punishment-

KEFKA suddenly bursts into the room with a cackle of his own. CID recoils in fear while MIKHAIL raises an eyebrow. ROCK turns to observe the situation.

KEFKA:  
Why, if it isn't Professor del Norte Marquez and his lackey Doctor Cossack. Two of my three favorite scientists hard at work doing sciency-type things for the betterment of mankind! For the betterment of the Empire! Working on things far beyond the scope of a simpleton such as me! *giggles* Where's the other one?

MIKHAIL:  
Doctor Cain went out for lunch, my lord. *under his breath* And I'm not a lackey, you pinhead.

KEFKA approaches ROCK and sneers in his face. ROCK just stares blankly.

KEFKA:  
And yet, he left his simpleton behind to do the heavy lifting.

The two hold the pose for a moment before KEFKA laughs crazily.

KEFKA:  
Idiot!

CID:  
Why… Why are you here, Lord Kefka?

KEFKA:  
A very good question, Professor. *giggles* You can say that I'm here for power. You can also say I'm here for knowledge. Or maybe I'm here just to simply see how it's going. *cackles* Truth of the matter is, my dear Cid, the Emperor sent me here for a progress report on our little…secret weapon.

CID:  
*stammers* Secret weapon?

MIKHAIL:  
Project One-Oh-Five-Three-Nine is proceeding per the plan that the Emperor set into motion, my lord.

KEFKA:  
*giggles* Ooh! This is good, excellent, fantastical news! Will it be powerful?

MIKHAIL:  
Yes, my lord.

KEFKA:  
*giggles* Will it have magical abilities beyond anything we've ever experienced?

MIKHAIL:  
Rivalling only yours, my lord.

KEFKA:  
The very thought of it sends a shiver down my spine! *cackles* And we're certain that Professor Cid won't do any meddling this time around?

MIKHAIL:  
Meddling?

CID:  
*hangs head* No, Lord Kefka. No meddling. You… You have my word.

KEFKA gets in CID's face.

KEFKA:  
I should very well hope so, Professor. It'd be a shame if I had to send a battalion of MagiTek soldiers to Jidoor. We wouldn't want anything to happen there, now would we?

CID turns white and slowly shakes his head.

CID:  
No, Lord Kefka.

KEFKA laughs in response. He approaches the fluid filled tank and shoves ROCK out of the way.

KEFKA:  
Out of the way, shrimpy!

He studies it for a moment before cackling like a madman.

KEFKA:  
I can feel the power! Yes! This one will do! Those pesky Returners won't know what hit them! *giggles* How soon until it's ready?

MIKHAIL:  
We still have yet to implement **[REDACTED]**. That should take a week.

KEFKA:  
A week?!

A fireball explodes on the wall beside MIKHAIL.

KEFKA:  
You have twenty-four hours. You fail that and my menagerie of jokers'll be eating good for days.

KEFKA leaves the room in a huff. CID and MIKHAIL look at each other before both turning to ROCK.

CID:  
Rock, fetch Doctor Cain. He's needed urgently lest we be turned into bird food.

ROCK nods and leaves on his fetch quest.


	6. Chapter 6

_**The Locke Cole Remix: Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, and Abandoned Side Story 2**_

* * *

 _ **Table of Contents**_

 _Chapter Nineteen:_  
 _The Winds of Chance_  
1) Locke's Coming Out

 _Chapter Twenty:_  
 _Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts_  
1) Celes' Obsevations on Locke  
2) Terra and Celes Kiss Under a Waterfall  
3) What happened to Tina Branford?  
4) "Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."  
5) "Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?"

 _Chapter Twenty-One:_  
 _Light Up the Night_  
1) "Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things." (Take 2)  
2) "Save me from my torment."

 _Chapter Twenty-Two:_  
 _Burn You Like a Phoenix_  
1) Opening - First Attempt:  
_ _A) "I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!"  
_ _B) "Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?"  
2) Opening - Second Attempt:  
_ _A) Terra falls off a twenty-foot drop.  
_ _B) Opening (Rough Version) and Battle (Script Version)  
3) Locke Comes Out:  
_ _A) "I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!"  
_ _B) Alternate Version  
4) Vyse has a dream. (Cut)

 _Abandoned Sidestory Featuring Locke:_  
1) Forever Rachel

* * *

 _Chapter Nineteen:_  
 _The Winds of Chance_

 _Locke's Coming Out_  
 _Notes: Originally, Locke was going to come clean about his true identity immediately after securing Setzer's help. However, I couldn't get it to mesh well with the rest of the chapter's content. So, it was held back until circumstances called for it to be addressed._

All it took was a knocking sound to send Celes crashing out of a peaceful sleep and into battle ready mode. Except, there was an issue. Actually, more like several issues that needed to be addressed before any fighting could take place. One: a naked Terra, oblivious to the world around her, was snoring quite happily between her breasts. Two: Terra's position was pinning her down to the bed. Three: She was nude as well. Celes wasn't quite prepared to take down attackers while 'free-balling', as they say, but since she had almost been forced to marry a man not a few hours earlier, there was a first time for everything.

Another knock from the door shot her up to her elbows, which elicited a groan of protest from Terra. A glance at the nearby time piece told her that it was two-god-damn-early o'clock. Who the bloody hell was wanting a chat at this hour? Celes rubbed the sleep from one of her eyes and grumbled, "Piss off."

"Celes? You awake?" It was Locke.

"I wasn't until you came along."

"Can we talk? It's…important."

This was surprising. Locke wasn't one to talk needlessly despite his level of friendliness. Locke also wasn't one to wake people up in the middle of the night without reason. Of course, this meant there was something bothering him. It was either about the hypothetical events that had nearly transpired with Setzer, which Locke blamed himself for, or it was about Ultros' gender-swap curse that Terra had been insofar unable to reverse. Neither were good topics to discuss at this hour. Celes sighed and held her aching head in a hand. Being hungover didn't help her mood or care factor either.

"Can it wait until morning?" she said with ice.

There was a pause on the other side of the door. "It could, but then I won't get any sleep because of it. Also, I'll just keep knocking until you come out."

"You're savage, Cole." She sighed. "Alright. Give me a minute."

"Just meet me in the galley when you're ready."

Celes had been unable to tell if Locke had walked away or not. Bloody thief had footsteps that made as much noise as a feather on a chicken's ass. Whatever. She grumbled a growl and reluctantly pried herself out of Terra's death grasp. Bloody thief making her get out of bed. Bloody girl making cute unconscious groans of protest. Bloody thief possibly making her miss another possible random middle-of-the-night encounter of exploration in the Cave of Branford. Bloody girl tossing their clothes everywhere.

In the darkness, all she had been able to find had been a pair of underwear, whose she hadn't been sure, and her blouse. She briefly considered searching harder, but to hell with it. Her desire to get this talk over with and get back to the bed calling to her was greater than a need for clothing. Besides, it was still dark out. The important bits were covered. That was good enough.

Inside the galley, she found Locke sitting at a table and giving his paper cup of coffee an unsure glare. She knew the reason of his expression; the smell of cheap coffee was overpowering. She had managed to find the place from the smell alone. The fact that it had been the only room with lights on had made it even easier.

"You're not going to drink it if you keep staring at it, mate," she said. Locke nearly jumped out of his seat and moved the focus of his puzzled stare to her. "The only way to get that sludge down is to chug it in one go. The key is to avoid tasting it."

LOCKE:  
I'm flattered that you feel comfortable enough around me to show up half-naked.

CELES:  
Don't kid yourself. I couldn't find my trousers. What did you want?

LOCKE:  
I wanted to discuss…me.

CELES:  
*sighs* Look, mate. I sympathize, but there's nothing I can do. I don't know healing magic and Terra's already tried to reverse the spell. You're just going to have to either wait for it to dispel on its own or learn to live with a pair of tits.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
You don't… Huh. Never mind, then.

CELES:  
What. You dragged me out of bed at this time of night to tell me that?

LOCKE:  
Don't worry about it, Celes. Go back to sleep.

CELES:  
Oh, no. You're not off the hook that easily, Cole. If there's something you want to talk about, you better start chatting away, hey. What's this all about?

LOCKE:  
*sighs* I thought you thought something about me, but I was mistaken. I'm sorry.

CELES:  
You're not making any bloody sense. I think Ultros screwed up more than just your looks.

LOCKE:  
*mutters* Ultros didn't screw up anything.

Silence. CELES leans forward and pokes LOCKE in the chest.

CELES:  
Really? Then explain these.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
I just talked myself into a hole, didn't I?

CELES:  
All by yourself, hey.

LOCKE:  
God dammit.

CELES:  
So, what's the deal?

LOCKE:  
*sighs* I'm not a man nor is Locke Cole my real name.

CELES:  
Why the change?

LOCKE:  
I… I should start at the beginning. Ten years ago, I had been in a relationship. I had also been his protégé in treasure hunting.

CELES:  
You mean thievery.

LOCKE:  
If you want to call it that, yes, but both he and his father had honor. They never stole from the poor, only the arrogantly rich and the Empire. I adored him. I wanted to be like him. I wanted be with him. And if learning his trade got me there… It had been a perfect arrangement as far as I had been concerned, but my parents disagreed. *sighs* They got what they wanted when I got injured. A bridge in our favorite get-away collapsed. I fell, hit my head, and developed amnesia. I remember everything now, but then… He tried so hard, but... I listened to my parents and pushed him away. He might still be alive if I hadn't.

Silence.

LOCKE:  
A year passed. Life in Kohlingen had gone on like nothing happened, until the Empire tried taking the town by force. I remember that day like it was yesterday. A day like that day is not one that can ever be forgotten nor is it a memory that can be healed easily. My family and I had been returning home from the general store when the first MagiTek laser hit the building, setting it on fire. Chaos hit immediately after that. Next thing I knew; I was shoved into a bush. Behind me, lay the smoking remains of my parents. Between them was… He…

LOCKE wipes away a few tears.

LOCKE:  
My memory returned after he had taken his last breath. After the battle, I couldn't remain in Kohlingen. I no longer felt comfortable in my hometown. There were too many bad memories. Too much heartbreak. I traveled to Figaro and joined the Returners, landing a gig as a double agent in the Durmoch house. I did my best to honor him in this way, but I wasn't satisfied. He had always talked about joining the Returners and bringing down the Empire. He deserved to be remembered for more than just petty thievery, so I cut my hair, changed my clothing style, and rejoined the Returners…in his name.

CELES:  
So, you're pretending to be your dead boyfriend? That's…morbid.

LOCKE:  
I know, but…

CELES:  
I'm not judging. We all handle grief differently. Some of us take on our loved one's life, while others take out our frustrations on the people surrounding us. So tell me, if Locke was your boyfriend, then…does that make you Rachel?

Silence.

LOCKE:  
How do you know my name?

CELES:  
Crazy old guy in Kohlingen approached us when you wandered off. Difficult to understand. Talked a mile a minute. He made sure we knew Locke's backstory, hey. Although, his story was that Locke's father was a farmer and that you, Rachel, had died in the Empire attack.

LOCKE:  
*sighs* God dammit, Grandpa.

CELES raises an eyebrow.

LOCKE:  
That had been the mayor of Kohlingen believe it or not. Everybody's always called him Grandpa because of his really bad memory. Bastard can never remember anything correctly.

CELES:  
*nods* So…Rachel, why tell me all of this? You could have just readjusted yourself overnight and no one been the wiser.

LOCKE:  
I panicked because I thought that seeing me in between the genders, you would have…recognized me. I thought if I caught you before you said anything, it'd save me the embarrassment in front of everyone else.

CELES:  
Maybe it's because I'm tired, but I'm not following.

LOCKE:  
*sighs* You…don't remember? Durmoch's mansion? I… I was the maid that you…coerced into sleeping with you.

CELES:  
That was you?! *stares* Sorry, mate. To be fair, I was pretty drunk that night, hey. And outside of the maid's uniform and with your hair short, you look like a totally different person.

LOCKE:  
*facepalms* I should have kept my mouth shut.

CELES:  
Look, if it makes you feel better, we can forget this ever happened.

* * *

 _Chapter Twenty:_  
 _Fallen Kingdoms, Broken Pasts_

 _Celes's Obsevations of Locke_

Speaking of amazing, she was amazed by how sudden Ultros' gender-swap curse on Locke had dispelled itself, especially considering Terra had tried several times to lift it. It was hard not seeing Locke in an entirely different light and marveling at just how feminine-looking he was under normal conditions. In fact, ever since she had started scrutinizing him more and more, she started noticing things, like a complete lack of facial hair. Sabin had been showing a five o'clock shadow before taking care of it in Jidoor. Locke did not. Sabin had no issue parading around in just his underwear if necessary, i.e. during the clean up after a battle with monsters. Locke did no such thing; for a man as fit as he was, it was an odd quirk. Even then, she couldn't help feeling that she had met him somewhere once before, long before she had renounced the Empire and joined the Returners. Where kept slipping through her metaphorical fingers. It was possible that she might have seen him in Figaro, South Figaro, or even in battle somewhere. Anything was possible, though nothing was concrete.

* * *

 _Terra and Celes Kiss Under a Waterfall_

Terra startled awake with a hand clutched to her heart and the other seeking out the comforting warmth of Celes. Except where Celes should have been there was only an empty half of their bedroll. She took several deep breaths to enhance her calm and listened to the night's song. But she knew damn well that what had scared her had come from inside her own head, not outside it.

A nightmare; a dream unremembered of something horrible and one that had left her with a feeling of dread. But she'd be lying if she said that traveling to Vector didn't fill her with the same emotion. She'd also be lying if she had said that she wasn't afraid of what they'd discover there. The whole idea had seemed like this romantic thing at first; freeing the espers, defeating the Empire, bringing everlasting peace. But the closer they got to the city itself, the more panic she tried to hide and keep in check.

Terra let loose the deep sigh that had collected in her lungs and continued listening. Crickets chirped. An owl hooted somewhere nearby. The waterfall continued pouring water into the spring. Other than the void of Celes' physical presence, nothing seemed out of place. That bright magical presence, on the other hand, could be felt nearby, shining like a beacon.

Rubbing the dried sleep from her eyes, she crawled out of the tent and took in her surrounds. Starlight filtered through the canopy of trees, offering very little in the way of light. Sabin and Locke were nowhere to be found; sleeping in their tents, she assumed. All that remained of their campfire was a few glowing embers smoldering within its own ash, its warmth not enough to keep the chill in the air at bay. Of course, neglecting to put on any clothes at all aided the transformation of bare skin to gooseflesh.

Unlike her quickened heart, the night was still. There seemed to be absolutely nothing worth seeing or hearing, until a faint splash from the spring caught her attention. What had that been? Celes?

As if on instinct, Terra stalked through the forest oasis quickly and quietly. She darted from shadow to shadow, from behind tree to tree, stopping when she reached the edge of the star illuminated spring. Only finding rippling reflections, she scanned the area, and wondered if perhaps she had been hearing things. And then it happened, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Like a mermaid from a fairytale, Celes broke the surface of the spring with a gasp for air, the move accenting her curves visible above the waterline. The starlight shining down caused her to glow as brightly as the magic she commanded.

Terra could only stare in amazement. This wasn't the first time she had seen her partner sans clothing. But this was certainly the first time seeing her relaxed without the aid of alcohol and certainly the first time seeing her beauty enhanced so much by their surroundings. She had once joked that Celes was queen of a kingdom in the sea, but right now, in this moment of treading water, she was breathtakingly looking the part.

Like a boat out on the ocean in a stormy night, this blew Terra away. She quickly decided that she wanted to take part in this momentous moment. But how? Just dive in and startle Celes? Or maybe quietly approach her in the water and take her from behind with soft touches and gentle kisses? She liked the second one so much that she momentarily got lost in imaginary hands and nibbles.

Wait. That had been her own hand. She shook her head clear and upped her determination to focus. Celes had moved to the opposite end of the spring, where it appeared shallow, and teased her by washing herself under the waterfall.

Terra made haste across the bank, around large boulders, and avoided anything that would signal her presence. She took care to avoid making splashes as the surprisingly warm water rose to her waist. The waterfall was now a roaring Behemoth in her ear with a drooling problem. Everything else in the world faded away with every step closer she took towards the glistening golden goddess before her. Was she wrong for wanting to disturb this beautiful scene? She reached out and gently took ahold of Celes' waist, pulling herself into a hug so close that she buried her face into waterlogged hair. If wanting a hug (among other things) was wrong, she certainly didn't want to be right.

The startle that she had expected didn't happen. Instead, hands rested on her own, sending a shiver down her legs. Aside from the water constantly falling on them, the world seemed to stop, granting them this moment. It made her head swim despite being above water level.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, hey," Celes said softly with a chuckle.

"I had a nightmare and you weren't there," Terra said. She slid a hand up Celes' stomach, relishing in every muscular contour, and began kissing her shoulder blade. "Hold me?" She couldn't help smiling when Celes turned in her arms and brushed away the waterlogged hair that had fallen into her eyes. She threw herself into the embrace that followed and nuzzled the first soft spot she could.

"That bad?"

"I don't know. I just…don't want to be alone."

Celes touched her forehead to Terra's. "I'll always be nearby," she said. "So don't panic, alright?"

Terra stood on her tiptoes to steal a kiss, except she couldn't just stop with one. She took many, along with the several that had been offered to her.

* * *

 _What happened to Tina Branford?_

Terra Branford now remembered most of what had made her who she was, including why her name had changed. She had been created, a copied personality, as a means for Tina to cope with her hellish environment. While Tina had befriended Celes, it had been Terra who had discovered love. It had been Terra who had endured as an experiment. It had been Terra who had endured Kefka and his mad ways. Tina had lacked the strength to survive, ironically perishing from the torture and experimentation she had sought to avoid and left behind only shreds of her former self for Terra to find.

* * *

 _"Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."_

It was no secret to the residents of Figaro that the underground caves beneath the Nibelheim Sea were creepy as hell. The flowing of water could be heard in the distance and around several bends, the reverberation making it hard to tell just how far away it was and sounding almost like a static white noise; there but not. When Sabin, Celes, Terra, and Locke had passed through these passages, they had reported that there had been nothing in the caves other than an abandoned ruined castle, a statue of a long-forgotten queen, and the stoned remains of an esper. If that was true, then Edgar questioned why he felt ill at ease. He wasn't the only one. Ramuh seemed on edge as did Royal Guard Captain Crono Torrigga. It was hard to tell with Crono though, being a self-imposed mute and all. The spiky red hair hiding his face and thus his facial expressions didn't help either.

Crono slammed his back to the stone wall, katana at the ready, and motioned for the others to do the same. Edgar nearly defecated himself from the deathly moaning that filled their ears. "Interesting," he whispered purely as a response mechanism. It was as if the caverns around the bend were filled with hundreds of people who were suffering from stomach aches all at the same time. Hopefully, that was the case and not the undead alternative. Both certainly explained the god-awful, unforgettable stench of human decay. At this point, he was glad he had the foresight to bring Crono along; the boy had a power level of over nine thousand. In other words, he was built like a brick shit-house and could kick ass like an enraged bull.

From behind Ramuh said softly, "Are you certain that your team ran into nothing nasty down here?"

Edgar patted his crossbow to make doubly sure that it was still on his back. He also checked for his blade at his hip. Still present. "I am positive that someone would have mentioned zombies, Ramuh. Especially Locke. He tends to be a bit excitable about certain things."

Crono turned in their direction and held a finger to his lips. A call for silence. When he was convinced that his warning was being observed, he poked his head around the corner. Edgar held his breath and waited what seemed an eternity for the okay to move forward. It never came. Instead, the roaring of the moaning increased in loudness and shrillness followed by a choked gasp of shock and disbelief. In an instant, he was gone with a bellowed war cry.

Edgar sighed and pulled his crossbow free. "Prepare your magic, my friend," he said.

* * *

 _"Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?"_

Edgar made his way through the twisting hallways of Figaro Castle. The whirring of the submersion drives aided his thoughts in a way that would take any non-mechanically inclined person to the realm of madness. Seeing the old abandoned castle for oneself was certainly better than the second-hand information he had received from Locke and Sabin. Most of everything still intact had been transferred back to Figaro Castle for study, especially the literature. Granted it all seemed to be in an ancient language, but it was an ancient language that Ramuh knew and was more than happy to help Figarian scholars decode; Esperian, the forgotten tongue.

In the basement had been the greatest treasure of them all, the stone visage of the forgotten queen, she who had ruled the desert lands before Figaro had even been a dream, Frigg Asgard. At first, Edgar had been convinced that it merely had been a well-made statue placed in an out of the way location for a long-lost reason. But Ramuh's reaction upon its discovery had said otherwise. That statue had been the actual queen turned to stone by magic, her own according to his reasoning, to keep the opposing faction from gaining her power. She was a power, Ramuh argued, that would be beneficial in their fight against the Empire's oppression, a power he had the means to tap.

Watching the old man cast magic was always a treat and, at the least, memorable. What was even more impressive was bearing witness to something of sediment and minerals transforming into an organic being, especially into the beautiful visage that was Queen Frigg. He would never forget the silence that transformed into wailing cries and tears. He would never forget Ramuh taking the Queen, a woman talked up to have been the strongest in the world in her time, and consoling her like an upset child. Even the strong had moments of helplessness, something of which he was all too aware.

Upon reaching library, he found her, nose buried in a map of the known world. If he hadn't known who she was, he could have easily mistaken her for Celes. Long golden hair, skin as pale as sand in the sun, features of an angelic hourglass, deep throaty tones of a woman mature, and a demanding presence all commanded attention. The only telling difference had been the bright green eyes. "I had a feeling that I would find you here, my Queen," he said with a bow. "I trust you are finding your way around the castle easily?"

Frigg looked up from her studies and gave him a wry smile. "I am, King Edgar. Danke," she said. "But please, I am queen to no one. My kingdom has long perished from zis world because of mein failure to protect it, ja? A fact I'm having trouble coming to terms wiz." Actually, there was a secondary difference – her accent, a far cry from anything he had ever heard before though not unpleasant. In fact, quite the opposite.

"Ah, but who is to say that your kingdom does not live on in modern day Figaro?" Edgar waggled a finger in her direction and flashed her a playful grin. "And just Edgar will do, thank you. For all we know and understand, the remnants of your kingdom may have banded together and created a new civilization from the ashes. Ramuh and archival evidence that we have in this library support this thought."

She gracefully folded her hands on the map in front of her before hanging her head in what could have been construed as shame. "Zat may be true, but it still does not change anyzing. Asgard may be gone from zis map, but only I remain as do mein regrets. Even mein husband no longer walks among the living, slain by the hands of traitors svorn to Nidavell. All zat remains of him is his magicite."

* * *

 _Chapter Twenty-One:_  
 _Light Up the Night_

 _"Locke tends to be a bit excitable about certain things." (Take 2)_

Edgar made it no secret that the underground caves beneath the Nibelheim Sea were creepy as hell. The reverberation of flowing water made it hard to tell just how far away it was and filled his ears with an annoying static white noise. When Sabin, Celes, Terra, and Locke had last passed through here, they had reported that there had been nothing of interest in these caves other than an abandoned ruined castle, a statue of a long-forgotten queen, and the stoned remains of an esper; one item of which they had brought back to the surface with them. If that was true, then Edgar questioned why he felt ill at ease. He wasn't the only one. Ramuh seemed on edge. And if an esper was on edge, then there was a problem.

Edgar was glad that he had listened to his foresight and enlisted help for this adventure. That help had been his cousin on his mother's side, Duchess of Figaro Marledia Guardia, and her peasant consort, Crono Torigah. Normally, Marle was a rather upbeat energetic girl who spent more time jumping with excitement over mundane things than anything else. In these caves, it was if she were a different person, quiet, stiff, crossbow eternally at the ready. She was as nervous as the rest of them, if not more so. Crono, on the other hand, was a tad more difficult to read what with being a man of very few words and all. The spiky ginger hair hiding his face and expressions didn't help either.

Crono, at the front of the group, suddenly came to a halt and slammed his back to the stone wall, katana at the ready. He motioned for everyone to follow suit before peeking quickly around the corner of the bend. Edgar swallowed hard. He had very few regrets in life, but agreeing to bring Ramuh down here was quickly becoming one.

"What'd'ya see, Crono?" Marle asked in a hushed tone. "Imperials?"

Crono brought himself back from around the corner and flattened stiff against the wall, his face white as a guestroom bedsheet. He gave a bewildered look and shook his head.

"Mystics?"

Again, the answer was no.

Edgar nearly defecated himself when a deathly moan echoed throughout the corridor. "Interesting," he whispered purely as a response mechanism. It sounded as if the caverns around the bend were filled with hundreds of people who were suffering from stomach aches all at the same time. Hopefully, that was the case and not what he was expecting.

"Oh, god. It's zombies, isn't it?" Marle said with an exasperated whine.

Crono nodded and tightened the grip on his sword.

Edgar sighed in disappointment. Well, that certainly explained the god-awful, unforgettable stench of human decay. Again, he reiterated to himself how glad he was that he had brought Crono and Marle along. The boy had a power level of over nine thousand. In other words, he was built like a brick shit-house and could kick ass like an enraged bull on a

speed tab. And Marle, she was a whiz-bang archer, with bows and manual loading crossbows, and not afraid to use a blade if need be.

From behind Ramuh said softly, "Are you certain that your team ran into nothing nasty down here?"

Edgar patted his autocrossbow to make doubly sure that it was still on his back. He also checked for his blade at his hip. Still present. "I am positive that someone would have mentioned zombies, Ramuh. Especially Locke. He tends to be a bit excitable about certain things. And if they had fought zombies, I am sure that Terra would have droned on and on about how great in battle Celes had been."

Crono turned in their direction and held a finger to his lips. A call for silence. When he was convinced that his warning was being observed, he poked his head around the corner once more. Edgar held his breath and waited what seemed an eternity for the okay to move forward. It never came. Instead, the roaring of the moaning increased in loudness and shrillness, which sent Marle fearfully into Crono's shoulder. A choked gasp of shock and disbelief followed suit before, in a near instant, Crono was gone with a bellowed war cry.

Following the lead, Edgar pulled his sword free and rounded the corner. There he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a large, brightly lit, open cavern. On the opposite end was a dilapidated castle. Between them was an army of the undead in decaying militaristic uniforms. "Prepare your magic, my Esperian friend," he said as Ramuh bumped into him. "A decisive battle is upon us!"

* * *

 _"Save me from my torment."_

When Celes sat up with a yawn, it became apparent that she had dreamed that campfire conversation. Several hours had passed since they had stopped for camp leaving the sky star-struck with the sun's absence. The nearby campfire was a smoldering ruin. Locke and Sabin were curled up in their sleeping bags while Terra's presence could be felt from outside the cave. If that maid had actually been here, she was long gone.

While Celes regretted the decision she had made those months past, it was something that she hadn't completely discussed with Terra nor had a desire to do so. Still, a strange thing to dream about: someone she had slept with in the past consoling her partner of the present. She was no dream expert, but perhaps it stemmed from her inability to give comfort to Terra when it was needed. Maybe Exposition was trying to tell her something. Maybe it had been just a dream and she was looking for meaning where there was none.

After stretching her stiff joints, she quietly ventured outside the cave and into the starlit night. She stole a quick moment to regard the inky black void on the southern horizon. Vector—home to slavers, enablers, users, abusers, and self-centered assholes on power trips. Anger bubbled up, forcing her to fight back the frustrated desire to punch the rocky wall. With a scoff and a shake of her head, she continued on her way. A broken hand was not something she could afford at present. Neither was a broken Terra. But still, one way or another she was going to make the responsible pay for their actions.

She found her partner sitting lonely at the top of the hill that covered their camp. She closed the gap and made her presence known with a comforting stroke of the hair. The tearful, puffy eyes that then turned up at her, pleaded, "Save me from my torment." At least, she assumed anyway. Terra made no vocal attempt at communication.

Celes sat down beside her on the hill's crest and welcomed the tightly gripped hug with a tight smile. "Can't sleep, huh?"

Terra nodded, but remained silent. She maintained the hug for a moment before hiding between her shoulders and behind her knees.

Celes mirrored the pose and waited for an answer, despite it becoming clear that none would come. She said softly, "You wanna talk about it, sweetheart?"

Again, Terra nodded, but offered no further information.

Celes sighed before placing a hand on an exposed thigh with a gentle caress. "I can't listen if you don't…" She trailed off when Terra took her hand in both of hers and turned it palm-side up. She looked into tired, worn eyes before she felt a strange tickling sensation. It took a moment of confusion to realize that Terra was spelling something out; the letter 'I' to be precise.

'-M-B-R-O-K-E-N

"You're broken?" Celes looked to their hands before meeting Terra's eyes once more. "What do you mean?"

I-N-N-O-C-E-N-C-E-L-O-S-T

Celes sighed once again. This was getting them nowhere slowly. "Terra, I appreciate that you're upset and it's difficult for you to talk about, but you can't keep spelling words into my hand."

I-R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R

"What do you remember?"

Terra's features contorted from her agony before her tears spilled and her voice choked from a stifled wail. She violently shook her head and diligently continued spelling.

E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G

She broke away to bury her face into her trembling palms, leaving Celes to stare blankly at the horizon ahead of them. Everything… Terra remembered everything. But what did that entail? Did that include everything she had been forced to do while under Kefka's influence? "What about everything has you upset?"

Some time of silence passed patiently waiting for Terra to compose herself. She took a deep, hitched breath, took Celes' hand once again in her own, and continued this unorthodox method of communication.

K-E-F-K-A

* * *

 _Chapter Twenty-Two:_  
 _Burn You Like a Phoenix_

 _"I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!"_

The hill had exploded in a shower of sediment, melted slag, and bits of what had at one time been a bush. That had been the last Terra remembered before waking up in this situation, tied up against their will, and weapons and protective clothing removed. Celes was slumped against her, all the while swearing up a storm and trying to escape her bindings. On the other side of her, Sabin sat calmly as if he were patiently waiting for an opening. Locke, on Terra's other hand, was red in the face. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't say, but she imagined it had something to do wi

th his exposed under clothing; a white tank top and frilly black feminine knickers that exposed what he had been hiding. Ultros' gender swap was still alive and kicking it seemed.

"Bloody fucking Imperial knuckle-fuckers!" Celes muttered as she struggled to free an arm. "I'm gonna bury my kneecap in their balls!" It was pointless though, they had outfitted her with an anti-magic neck-collar. She couldn't ice her way out of it.

This outburst prompted Sabin to laugh, but Terra didn't find it funny. This was a very serious problem. They had been discovered and now any element of surprise they had up their sleeve was now dust in the wind. They could hope that this group hadn't sent word out to headquarters. One good thing in their favor was that they hadn't realized that she was the dreaded "Fire Witch" and had failed to outfit her like Celes. Now if only her fire would stop playing hard to get. She imagined their bindings engulfed in flame and all that happened was a small wisp of smoke.

Dammit.

Locke scoffed. "This is not how I wanted to come out," he said, his voice now less gruff.

"Come out about what, Cole?" Celes spat. "About how Ultros plumped up your tits and magicked away your Captain Winky? Not really important right now!"

Locke shot her a dirty look while freeing his hands from his binds. He quickly went to work on his ankles with a growl. "I had everything under control until that stupid octopus. And I even managed to salvage it until this."

What the hell was he talking about? Apparently, Terra wasn't the only one with that thought as both Celes and Sabin immediately asked the same thing.

Locke freed his legs, and soon Terra felt him ducked down behind her working on undoing the knot she couldn't burn.

* * *

 _"Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?"_

"Did you clowns really think you could bring down a Hell House?" one of their Imperial captors said with a laugh. "Dickheads."

Celes threw herself to her knees. "In a fair fight?" she growled. "Watch me, knuckle-fucker. I know the Guardian's weaknesses!"

The Imperial laughed once again. "One of the first things Lord Kefka did after your betrayal was to modify the Guardian design.

* * *

 _Terra falls off a twenty-foot drop._

Terra hit the ground hard and cried out in agony as she rolled. Falling off a twenty-foot drop was something she never wanted to ever do again. Celes, however… Celes was crazy. She had actually jumped off to attack head on.

They had been discovered by a random group of Imperial soldiers on patrol. Worse yet was the fact that these soldiers controlled what Celes had called Guardians with them. Terra, though, knew them by a different name—Hell Houses. Kefka had called them this during the many times he had pitted her against them for his sick amusement. They were so named due to the fact that they looked like houses until approached and then—Bam!—eight spindly legs appeared along with a head out the door and arms through the windows. Whoever had designed it was royally effed in head.

By the time Terra begrudgingly rose to her feet, Sabin and Locke had joined Celes in beating back soldiers and dodging MagiTek lasers and exploding rockets. She had to do a double take on Locke. Unsurprisingly, he was clad in only a tank top and his underwear. Surprisingly, he was wearing underwear that typically only women wore. And she hadn't been the only one to notice.

"Why the hell're you wearing frilly knickers, Cole?!" Celes said as she buried her magically created ice blade into a stomach.

Terra didn't get a chance to think much further on the situation as a familiar, nightmare inducing ticking came from behind. She turned to investigate and any courage she had drained out of her through her bladder. Hell House. Directly behind her. Towering over her. Targeting. MagiTek laser. Head grinning. Kefka's laughter. Move. Move! Move!

At the last moment, she dove between its legs, narrowly missing becoming disintergrated.

* * *

 _Opening (Rough Version) and Battle (Script Version)_

Terra coughed and waved dust from her face. What the hell had happened? One minute, she and Celes had been staring up at the stars, and then something had exploded practically on top of them. A quick look around garnered the information that she wasn't in the same spot they had been last she checked. That spot was now a smoking crater and Celes… Celes was crouched behind her, looking fabulously pissed.

"Locke! Sabin!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. "We've got Guardians!"

Guardians? Wait. Big house-like structures with MagiTek laser-firing heads that can disappear behind its door, rocket launcher and sub-machine gun arms that hang out its windows, and several octopus-like legs to propel it along the ground with ease? The ones that Kefka had referred to as Hell Houses? Those Guardians?! One interaction with them could wipe out an entire town. She had fought one while under Kefka's influence and barely survived. If there were more than one attacking here, she and Celes must have been spotted in the moonlight by a group of patrolling Imperials. This meant one thing: They were boned.

Before standing, Celes said in a low tone, "Terra, stay hidden. Let us handle this." And then, like a badass, she took a running leap off the hill turned cliff with a war cry and an ice blade crystalizing in her hands.

Stay hidden? She wasn't useless, well, entirely. She could still help!

TERRA slides down the hill, all the while trying and failing to cast fire. SABIN and LOCKE emerge from the cave in their sleeping clothes, with LOCKE's being a tank top and women's underwear.

SABIN:  
You got some kind of fetish for kicking ass in women's underwear?

TERRA: (noticing LOCKE's apparel)  
…

LOCKE:  
This really isn't the time, Sabin!

SABIN:  
I'm guessing that's a yes.

They bound into the fray to deal with a squad of Imperials. CELES, meanwhile, runs through another group toward the two Guardians in the rear.

CELES:  
Take care of the little wankers! The big wankers are mine!

A MagiTek laser materializes from one of the Guardians, narrowly missing CELES. It hits the hill, causing one side of its opening to explode and the remainder to collapse. TERRA takes cover to avoid large rocks. Several Imperial soldiers go flying through the air, courtesy of SABIN. LOCKE takes to disappearing into the chaotic darkness and reappearing long enough to stab a few in the back. TERRA again tries to fill the battlefield with fire and fails. She turns her head to watch a MagiTek laser beam passed her. Another MagiTek laser hits the ground in front of her, sending her flying away unscathed courtesy of a well-timed LOCKE. When they land, she's laying on top of him, dumbfounded as to what happened.

LOCKE:  
Baldur's Gate! Between you and Celes… The two of you are gonna get me killed!

TERRA gives him a smile and rolls off. She stares at his very feminine underwear for a moment before raising an eyebrow at him.

LOCKE:  
*flustered* We'll discuss it later!

Another MagiTek beam flies over their heads forcing them to cower down. This is then followed by the sounds of several explosions. TERRA gives him a look of disbelief.

LOCKE:  
I promise.

SABIN:  
I could use a hand over here!

CELES:  
Cole! Sabin's pinned down!

LOCKE:  
Oh, for…! Stay hidden! We'll handle this!

TERRA returns to her feet and again tries fire magic. Again, nothing happens. In the distance, CELES, now standing on top of a Guardian, looks right at TERRA with horror.

CELES:  
Terra! Behind you!

With a squeal, TERRA manages to step aside just as an Imperial blade swipes the air where she had been standing. The Imperial stares at her for a moment, slackjawed.

IMPERIAL SOLDIER:  
They didn't tell us that you Returner sheilas were so cute.

TERRA: (Internal Monologue)  
He thinks I'm cute…?

IMPERIAL SOLDIER:  
I'm sorry cute lady, but I have my orders.

By the time he had gotten around to raising his sword once again, TERRA had punched him in the stomach and kicked him to the ground. At this point, LOCKE and SABIN have taken care of the soldiers. The two of them are squaring off against one Hell House. CELES is on top on the other and trying to swipe at the head every time it peeks out its door.

LOCKE:  
The hell you doing?!

CELES:  
The head is the weakness!

LOCKE:  
Yeah, okay. Hitting it's easier said than done, lady!

One launches a series of rockets into the battlefield, forcing LOCKE and SABIN to scramble. The explosions knock CELES off her adversary, which obscures her fate from TERRA's view.

TERRA:  
Celes!

Enraged, TERRA uses gravity magic to grab ahold of any nearby objects, set them on fire, and fling them in the Guardians' direction. Large stones, the Imperial she had kicked, another that has snuck up on her, uprooted bushes, swords, nothing is safe. This all does very little damage, but does catch the Guardians' attention. They ignore LOCKE and SABIN and race toward TERRA, surrounding her.

TERRA: (Internal Monologue)  
I wish you'd just disappear!

Her hands glow, making her desires so. The Guardians disappear from sight. Doing so reveals CELES smacking into solid air and falling to the ground with a bloody nose.

CELES:  
What the bloody hell just happened?

The sparkling lights of charging MagiTek beams, reveal that the Guardians are still present but invisible. TERRA's face falls as she looks up at the sparkling light.

TERRA: (Internal Monologue)  
I wish you'd just go away and never come back!

A rift in the space-time continuum rips open to show off its dark and starry goodness. A voice echoes out from the depths.

VOICE:  
That you, Bartz?! I challenge you to another- What the hell? Who designs machines to look like humanoid houses?

The rift closes but not before an explosion is heard.

VOICE:  
Oh, fuck me!

TERRA stares at the empty space for a moment before looking at CELES. CELES, looking as dumbfounded as her, continues looking at the empty space.

CELES:  
Was that…? Was that warp magic?

TERRA reaches out, expecting to feel something solid, but finds nothing. She shrugs before rushing to CELES' side to administer healing magic. CELES pokes at her now healed nose giving TERRA a disapproving look.

CELES:  
You don't listen very well, do ya?

TERRA shakes her head all the while grinning like a happy lunatic.

LOCKE:  
We should probably salvage what we can of our gear and get a move on. When these guys fail to report in, this place'll be swarming with Imperials.

CELES:  
That's exactly what'll happen.

CELES scrutinizes LOCKE with a frown and focuses on his choice of underwear.

LOCKE:  
What?

CELES:  
And I thought I had frilly knickers. Something we need to discuss, Miss Cole?

LOCKE:  
*sighs* Guess I don't have a choice now.

SABIN slaps him on the back with a laugh.

SABIN:  
Not with that lacey number! Be thankful my brother's not here!

CELES:  
*scoffs* There's a disaster waiting to happen.

TERRA giggles.

LOCKE:  
*groans* Believe me, I'm well aware of that.

* * *

 _"I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!"_

CELES:  
Ultros magicked you into a sheila. You lied about changing back into a bloke. Why?

LOCKE:  
Be…cause we have more important things to—

CELES:  
Choco shit. You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me to go back to sleep.

LOCKE:  
I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to flirt—

CELES:  
You have girlier underwear than Terra!

LOCKE:  
*shouting*  
I'm a treasure hunter, dammit!

CELES:  
*laughs*  
Now you're changing the subject.

* * *

 _Alternate Version_

Celes snorted but had no witty retort, not when it was true. "So, tell me, Miss Lockhart, was this what you had wanted to talk to me about on the airship?"

"I panicked because I thought you would have recognized me. I thought that by catching you before you said anything to anyone it'd save me some embarrassment." He paused. "In retrospect, I should have just come out with it then. This has been way more embarrassing."

"Recognized you? Uh, sorry, mate. Not following."

Another long, awkward silence fell between them. Not that the conversation was any less awkward. Locke sighed once again and said, "We first met in Durmoch's mansion. I…" He paused and gave her a look that clearly stated that he did not want to share this information. "I was the maid that you drunkenly coerced into sleeping with you."

Celes jumped to her feet and shrieked, "That was you?!" Realizing that she could have just alerted the Empire to their location, she crouched down amongst the tall grass and hovered just in front of Locke's face. There was no possible way that he was the girl she had regretfully slept with. They didn't even look anything remotely alike…until she imagined long curly hair on him. Hair! That was why she could never put her finger on his familiarity! She hissed quietly, "How? Why?"

"It was Edgar's idea to get information and to sway you to the Returners," he said. "I didn't take the mission by choice. No offense, Celes, but sleeping with women and asshole men because it's my job isn't really my thing."

Celes buried her fist into the dirt by way of a punch to the ground. "Bloody Edgar!" she spat. "Next time I see him I'm freezing his balls to his arse!"

Locke buried his face behind a palm. "I should have kept my mouth shut."

"If it makes you feel better, we can forget that ever happened between us, hey. I don't exactly want Terra to know about it, you know? I mean unless you want her to do to you out of jealousy what she did to those Guardians this morning."

"I think I'll pass on that. Thanks." Locke grinned warmly and extended a hand which Celes took firmly with a handshake. "But at least I can say that it was because of you I changed who I was and what I do for the Returners."

"But Edgar mentioned you in passing like you were still manning that post in Durmoch's mansion."

"What can I say? I'm good at what I do. Got Lady Luck and mad skills on my side."

"Right..." Celes said with a raised and questioning eyebrow. "So, what about Maria? Weren't you trying to get into her dress?"

"She was my next-door neighbor growing up in Kohlingen. She, uh, recognized me and played along with the charade."

"I see. Well, we met an old man in Kohlingen. Claimed to know a lot about 'Locke'…"

"Probably my grandfather. Has dementia. Thinks I'm actually Locke."

"I see. So, now that your secret's out what do you prefer to be called?"

"You forgot my name, didn't you?"

"…No?" Actually, yes. Celes had. But her excuse was that she had been drunk. For once, scrutinizing eyes fell on her, and it made her fidget with uncomfortableness. "Well, maybe. I did say that we were going to forget that ever happened."

Locke laughed. "Fair enough." He, no, she turned her gaze towards the confused Terra and Sabin, who Celes just then realized had been watching. She raised a hand in mock greeting and shyly said, "Hi, guys! Name's Rachel Lockhart, treasure hunter, saboteur, and spy for the Returners, but my friends call me Locke. It's great to meet you!"

* * *

 _Vyse has a dream. (Cut)_

Vyse awoke with quite a start, a cry of alarm and a bolt upright to be precise. As he tried to catch his breath, he caught sight of Aika making breakfast over their open campfire. At least, she had been until she screamed in surprise. This prompted Vyse to yell out once again.

Setzer sat nearby, smoking his pipe and eyeing the both of them with a bemused, smug look. He pulled his pipe from his mouth and said, "You two keep making noises like that, and we'll have all the beasties in the Marble Garden Zone jumping down our throats."

Aika turned red with embarrassment and went back to cooking her pot of beans. Vyse, on the other hand, laughed nervously. "Sorry, boss," he said. "I guess my dream was a little bit too real."

"A dream?" Setzer mused. "Sounded more like a nightmare to me. What was it about?"

"I don't really remember other than the feeling that people might have forgotten about us."

Aika raised her spoon in an attempt to be dramatic. Sadly, the only exciting point about it had been the flight of the beans that had stuck to said utensil. "But how can anyone forget us?" she said. "We're lovable scamps!"

Setzer calmly laughed. "If only people would forget about us air pirates. It'd make our jobs that much easier."

Vyse shared a grin and nodded his agreement. If there was one thing the boss was, it was right.

* * *

 _Abandoned Sidestory Featuring Locke_

 _Forever Rachel_  
 _Notes: Originally, I was going to reveal Locke's true identity in a side story showcasing his whereabouts while the group was in Kohlingen. A couple of hundred words in, I came to the conclusion that such a plotpoint should be addressed by the main narrative and decided that sidestories would be regulated to past events_ (An Angel of Snow) _and alternate universe-type stuff_ (Point Me to the Sky Above / Who Gives Healing to the Healers?) _._

Kohlingen, in all honesty, was the last place that Locke had wanted to set foot in. It was a place that held too many bad memories, too many heartaches. He had only just gotten the old smell of manure out of his nose and here it was, back again. Some things just didn't change. Sometimes, he felt that the only thing that changed was him. A quick look around the farming community had told him that this was so. Well, actually, that had been a lie. The house he had grown up in was no longer empty. The roof had caved in allowing weeds of all kinds and even a tree to take root in the dirt floor. Thank goodness he had left Terra, Celes, and Sabin at the entrance to the town. They hadn't needed to see this.

That Celes, though. For a woman who looked the part of the angry blonde bimbo to a tee, she didn't play the bimbo part very well at all. "Where are you off to?" she had asked with the raised eyebrows of a woman suspicious. Just listening to her speak was enough to convince him why she earned the nickname of "Ice Queen". And it had very little to do with her magic.

Locke had merely smiled and offered very little in way of a response, a non-answer. He wanted to be alone. He didn't want the others to know where he was going or who he was visiting. Only Edgar knew the story of why he had fled Kohlingen in the first place, but even he didn't have the full story. In a way, that was how Locke wanted it. It was too painful to speak of, to think of, but his inner voice had no issues consistently reminding him of it.

In a way, he had Terra to blame for the reemergence of these thoughts. Her situation brought back memories, or a lack thereof, that were best forgotten, but couldn't be no matter how hard he tried. A broken bridge, a conked head, shattered memories; those had been reality for some time. And they had not been fun, not in the slightest.

Whereas Terra had a caring and _surprisingly_ patient Celes to lean on for support, Locke had been run out of town by Rachel's parents leaving her with no support at all. If her amnesia had been the injury, her parents had been the nail in the coffin. If only he had pushed to remain at her side. If only he had fought back. Instead, he reluctantly did as he had been asked. He had been weak willed. He should have fought to be by her side. The sad part was that if Rachel had known better, she would have done the same.

A year later, Locke had returned to find that she and her family were gone. Well, that hadn't been entirely true. Her family may have gone, but Rachel was still there. Having seen her lying on that bed as if she were merely sleeping haunted him like nothing else he had ever encountered. Not even Kefka injecting him with poison ranked that high. He didn't encounter nightmares of poison on a regular basis. Although, he could certainly think of worse things.

"Holy mutha!" came a voice from behind him. "Locke! Izzat you?!"

Popping out of his head, Locke was quick with a grin and twinkle in his eye.[1] "Hello, Mr. Popondopolous," he said in his best charismatic voice. He turned and extended a hand to the greying gentleman standing before him. "I see you're still looking well! How is Mrs. Popondopolous?"

"Oh, she's still a right vixen, that one!" laughed the old man. Inwardly, Locke sighed. He had been hoping to avoid people altogether. Clearly, luck was not in his favor today. "I see that yer still tryin' to hide yer accent, boy?"

Locke feigned a laugh and mentally tied a noose around his neck. "Well, I travel the world now, sir," he said. "It's either be understood by the rest of the world or only be understood by Kohlingers."

"Takin' after yer pappy, no doubt! The world's greatest treasure hunter!"

"I don't know what you mean, sir," Locke interjected. "My father was a corn specialist. He died growing what he loved the most."

Truth of the matter was that Locke's father died at the hands of an assassin after managing to swipe stolen plans from the Empire. The lies had come about to protect him and his mother from any fallout that would no doubt occur from that particular lifestyle. It no longer mattered at this point, his mother died later of a broken heart. Now, it was purely the principle of the thing. It was almost as if keeping the lie going kept him close to his parents.

The same could also be said about Rachel.

It had been awhile before Locke finally shook off the former neighbor. He hated being rude, especially to older folk, but good gods did they like to ramble on and on about inane malarkey that pertained to no one. It didn't even pertain to them and still they rambled! He'd say that he couldn't wait to get old so that he could spend his time worrying about useless things, but considering his life-style, the chances were high that he wouldn't reach fifty.

Eventually, after some wandering in deliberate circles to confuse any unwanted followers, Locke arrived at his destination. This cemetery outside of town was rundown and had most certainly seen better days, but Rachel's parents, as well as Locke's, were buried here. There was one other very special person buried here, someone that was being paid respects. Until wild laughing shot in from behind. For a moment, fear had been high that Kefka had returned to finish the job, but it had ended up being someone very different.

[1] Truth be told, that twinkle was actually a tear of sadness, but no one needed to know this.

* * *

More stories in the _FFVI: Cold Fire Universe:_  
 ** _Rust Never Sleeps  
_ _An Angel of Snow_**  
 ** _Who Gives Healing to the Healers?_**  
 ** _Point Me to the Sky Above  
_ _Rust Never Sleeps Remix: Alternate and Deleted Scenes_ _  
_**

On Archive of Our Own:  
 ** _Prayer of Revenge_**


	7. Ch 23 Preview: Splash in the Dark

Just a quick update to say that chapter 23 is coming along slowly due a lack of time over the Christmas period (an extended illness hasn't helped either). All rewrites were completed back in October/November with the upcoming chapter currently sitting at 75% completed. Hopefully, it'll be finished within the next two weeks. Hopefully. Please enjoy this partial rough draft until then.

* * *

"Baldur's Gate! This stench is unbearable!" Locke pinched her nose with one hand and waved the other about her face as if that would do something about the thousands of years of smelly build-up.

Fun fact: It was about as useful as collecting eggs from a male chocobo's nest.

Even funner fact: Male chocobos don't lay eggs.

Celes, at the front of the group and leading them through this god-awful maze of dimly-lit, eye-watering stink, scoffed before halting at an intersection. She quietly scrutinized all options—left, right, forward, and everything in between—before pointing in a random direction and taking that particular path. She said without looking back, "Suck it up, princess. This is on par with Kohlingen if you ask me."

Terra shook her head in disagreeance and continued taking shallow breaths through the fabric of her hood. The smell in Kohlingen had been bad, sure, but that had just been straight up cow manure. The stench here stunk up the place with underlying aromas of death and decay mixed in with human excrement, which made it twenty times worse. In fact, this was an odor more foul than all of those smells put together. This was a horrible vomit inducing stink that employed the same tactics as a crazy stalker; it clung to everything and lingered everywhere. The only way to defeat it was through divine intervention. Terra was sure of it.

Even Sabin showed effects of succumbing to the toxic environment. He had long ago tied a handkerchief around his nose and mouth, what good that would do, and his normally upbeat, can-do attitude had turned timid and sluggish. It almost looked like he was suffering from poison. Of course, the sewers of Vector were by far one of the most poisonous foes they had gone up against so far. Only Kefka won that contest, and he won by a very slim margin.

Terra sighed and followed the others through the tunnel, taking care to avoid stepping on things of questionable natures and walking in the disgusting, disease filled puddles when able. She hadn't wanted the city through its sewers. She would have been more than happy to fly them over its protective walls one by one, but Celes had argued against it. "They'll detect your magic," she had said.

The group travels single-file through the tunnel.

CELES:  
Let me get this straight: You mean to tell me that Maria was in on the whole thing?

LOCKE:  
*sighs* Yeah, although I'm not sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

SABIN:  
I dunno. I'd be pretty stoked if a woman like that were into me.

Terra giggles.

LOCKE:  
Easy for you to say, you're a straight male. I'm a straight female. Not exactly my cup of tea, you know?

SABIN:  
Heh. Right. Forgot about that.

LOCKE:  
To be fair though, her flirtatious advances were probably the real deal. She always did have a thing for me when we were growing up.

CELES:  
What was Maria like as a kid?

LOCKE:  
Kinda like you, actually.

CELES:  
*raises an eyebrow*  
In what way?

LOCKE:  
In just about every way. Loud, obnoxious, angry all the time, picked fights at the drop of a hat…

CELES stops to turn back and narrow her eyes.

LOCKE:  
*cont'd* Very lesbian…

CELES:  
Okay, I'll give you that, but I'm not any of those other things.

LOCKE:  
Says the angry-looking lady.

CELES:  
That's 'cause you're pissin' me off, mate.

SABIN:  
*laughs* There you go gettin' loud again!

CELES:  
Don't make me kick your arse, Figaro.

LOCKE:  
And there you go picking a fight.

CELES holds her breath as she turns to TERRA, who nods in agreement.

CELES:  
*sighs* Fine. Whatever. However, Maria doesn't seem to be any of those things. If she hadn't told me she hides her sexuality, I'd have never pegged her as such.

LOCKE:  
I'm guessing getting hauled off to that Zozo orphanage must have subdued her personality somewhat.

CELES:  
Orphanage?

LOCKE:  
Yeah. Her mom died at some point before I was born and her dad is some wandering deadbeat. Her grandparents raised her until they died. Nobody else in town wanted the responsibility, so she was shipped off to Zozo.

CELES:  
Baldur's Gate. I can only imagine what that was like.

They continued on, silently wandering the catacombs, guided only by the memory Celes possessed of that one and only time she had gotten lost in this place. Turn here. Go straight here. Make another turn, but in a different direction than the last, then wonder if they were lost. Someone sneezed at some point causing everyone to jump at nothing. Everyone laughed it off and kept walking, but ultimately got lost again. Three words best described the experience: dull and forgettable.

Eventually, they came upon a room that was unnecessarily oversized, almost like a cathedral. Lit torches bolted to the walls flickered on either side. Copper pipes, now verdant with age and corrosion, funneled water from some far-off location to the floor. No matter where she stood, Terra's boots were now submerged up to the tips of her toes. The very thought of standing in waste water made her want to retch.

Celes stopped in the center of the room and immediately went on guard. "Is it just me, or has the vibe in here changed?"

Locke pulled her daggers free. "I feel it too. Like this room was built for a fight."

Shivers crawled up and down Terra's spine when something cold and wet invaded her boots. The water level had risen several more inches, just enough to turn her socks squelchy. How the hell was this happening? She tried calling attention to it, but her words failed her and came out as a garbled mess…again.

Sabin said, "Uh, has anyone noticed that the water's rising?" At least someone could voice what she was thinking. Surprising, though, that he hadn't also noticed the unseen clinking of rattling chains that caught her interest.

Celes immediately cursed. "Make a break for it!" she said. "I don't want to be killed by a god damn Aps!"

"A what?" Locke said with a scratch of her head.

If an earth-shattering roar from behind caused the water around their ankles to ripple, then the giant blue-skinned bipedal pig-like creature dropping from the cathedral ceiling caused a powerful tsunami. They had only made it a third of the way to the opposite door before the group were swept off their feet by waves. Sewer water in Terra's boots had been disgusting enough, but to be covered head to toe was a different story altogether. That, however, wasn't all; the force had been so strong that everyone had slid across the entire room and out the door.

With a curse, Celes vanished from sight first. Locke and Sabin were so diligent in following that they disappeared second and third. Terra hadn't fully realized the situation until her heart decided to stay in the same spatial location, lodging itself in her throat, after the ground disappeared out from under her. As gravity pulled her down several floors, she briefly noticed pretty man-made waterfalls surrounding her on all sides. The sound of water talking to itself was soothing and nearly lulled her out of her fear, until she smacked into the pool below with an ear-shattering, excruciatingly gut-wrenching belly flop. The pain and the shock were so great that she nearly cried out. However, it was a good thing she hadn't; she had landed face-down in the water. Drowning so didn't suit her style.

After making their way to dry 'land,' the group took the time to wring some of the water from their clothing. While lamenting the heaviness of her now sticky dress, Terra noticed something hidden by the darkness. A secret hallway that housed a crudely written sign reading, 'Heer lyes ye olde goldin shinee wyer of hoap.' A crude arrow pointed further into the darkness. Terra tugged on Locke's sleeve to gain her attention and pointed across the way.

"'Here lies ye old golden shiny wire of hope,'" Locke read aloud from behind squinted eyes. "Is that the exit out of the sewers? If it is that's a terrible analogy." And as an afterthought, "The spelling's pretty bad, too."


End file.
